Homesick
by Moo Moo Cow The Writer
Summary: After being taken from her home, Piper ends up in the Central Park Zoo. Will she be able to stay faithful to the idea of going back, or will she become attached to the Penguins? She questions if home a few months ago, still feels like home now.
1. Antarctica

Homesick

Fandom: Penguins of Madagascar

Rating: T

Genre: Romance/Adventure/Slight Drama

Pairing(s): Kowalski/OC

Full Summary: After being taken from her home in Antarctica, Piper ends up in the Central Park Zoo. Despite her protests, she is stuck there for a couple of months. Will she be able to stay faithful to the idea of going back, or will she become attached to the Penguins? She questions if home a few months ago, still feels like home now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Penguins of Madagascar, or any of the characters. I do, however, own my characters. :)

Comment: Hello~ I hope you enjoy my fanfic, though, it won't be very long. Most likely only 8 chapters. But, I hope you'll enjoy them all the same. Also, I don't normally write in first point of view, but, I just felt like I should do at least one story with it. And, I've been trying to read about Penguins, and, I'm going to try to get some facts right. If they aren't, then, just ignore them, because, I probably couldn't find it on Google. xD

–

I've always been very small and chubby; even when I hatched out of my egg. Though, back then, most of the chicks were small and chubby, but very cute. The real trouble came when I was about a year old, when I actually started to grow adult feathers; I was still shorter, and fatter, than the rest. I knew I got this from the gene my father gave me, even if I wasn't exactly happy about it. Most female penguins my age now, which is about 5, are very lean and tall, their heads up high.

Despite this, I could go as fast as any other penguin. Actually, I moved faster. Not really in the water, but, more on the snow. I used to have races with my friends when we were chicks, where we find hills and glide down them on our belly's; I would always win of course. Ah, yes...Good times they were when I was a chick...Yes. Anyway, before I start rambling, my name is Piper. I'm an Emperor Penguin and, according to my mother, 'just the right age to mate'. I haven't actually found that special someone quite yet, but, my mother is very persistent. Especially this morning.

As I waddled my way through the other penguins of the colony, I began looking for Edric. As I looked around, all I saw were new and old mother's and father's, tending after their chicks. After looking for a couple of minutes, it wasn't that easy with being so short, I finally spotted a big, white and gray puffball, that, from a distance didn't really stand out from the other chicks, but, up close, he just seemed different from the others. It could be that he was attempting to stand on his head at the moment. I quickly walked up to him.

"Edric...What are you _doing_?" I asked, a smile across my face.

"Oh! Hi, Piper!..." He took a quick breath. "...Guess what I found out?" He didn't wait for me to answer.

"The other chicks told me that if you stand on your head, then, it's a way to scare off Leopard Seals! Can you believe that? All this time, so many penguins could have been saved if we've only just stood on our heads." Edric leaned a little too far to his left and fell over completely, laying on his side while he continued to talk. "I'm practicing to test it out, since, the guys wanted to see it in action!" He got up, rubbing his head.

"Though...I still need a little work." I sighed a bit, giving Edric a soft smile. I went over and brushed out some of the snow that stuck to his down feathers.

"Edric, I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, have you actually _seen_ anyone try this? There's no way I'm letting you go near one of those Seals, _especially_ alone," I said. Though, I was pretty sure he wasn't listening to me; he just kept on talking.

"Don't worry, Piper! I'm old enough to know what I'm doing," Edric said, puffing up his chest a bit and putting his flippers to his sides in a hero like pose.

Even though Edric was only a few months old, he's very brave and _very_ native. He was a son to one of my mom's old friends. We sorta clicked when I got here in late May, coming only a few days after the chicks hatched. I came here to see family, but, I ran into her husband and, with him, was little Edric. He was a bit shy at first, not sure what to make of me, but, he then turned into quite a chatter box.

Our conversation, mostly of just Edric talking, was interrupted by his father. Oliver quickly waddled up to us, looking very nervous as he always did.

"Edric! Don't run o-off like that! Y-You scared your mother and I-I very much!" Oliver quickly gave me a quick nod, his way of saying hello, and started pulling Edric back to where his mother was standing, which was at least a dozen meters away. Bennet was talking to a couple of other mom's, looking very content with not having a child around her legs, unlike the other mother's.

Despite Oliver and Bennet being an older couple, Edric is their only child. Bennet didn't want to have a chick very soon, actually, before having Edric, she claimed she would never have a chick of her own. Oliver, ever since his trouble with an orca and almost being eaten by one, has been very frisky. Actually, a few years ago, he was even scared of being near other penguins.

As Oliver tried to pull Edric over to his mother, Edric tried to fight back, though, it was easy to tell who would win in the end.

"I don't want to go! I want to stay!" Edric cried, trying with all his strength to get his father to let go. I quickly went over to Oliver, putting a flipper on his shoulder.

"Oliver, Edric is perfectly safe here, you don't need to worry. And, he seems to be having..." My voice came to a halt when he gave me a glare, telling me to not get involved. By this time Edric was hallowing. He really didn't want to go. I looked over at Bennet, who, looked like she would like to just walk away. Finally, Oliver decided to just pick the squiggling Edric up and waddled over to Bennet.

–

I walked around the colony before finally giving up trying to find Opal, my younger sister, and went east, where some of the best hills were. There, I found a couple of chicks that snuck off from their parents. They were sliding down the hills, swerving around rocks that were in their way when coming down. As I walked a bit closer, I began to recognize the little chicks. There was only four of them; Jill, Henry, Jock, and Nesk.

"Hey! There's Piper!" Jill yelled, quickly gliding over to where I was on her stomach. The three boys followed.

"Piper! Piper! Guess what? I won a race against Henry!" Jill said, jumping up and down, very excited by this.

"I knew you could do it!" I smiled, "Did you use my secret technique?"

"She only won because she cheated," Henry claimed, crossing his flippers.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Okay! Okay, stop fighting," I said, coming between the two. "How about we have another race?"

"Fine," they both muttered.

"Piper, why don't you race with us?" Jock asked, smiling.

"No way! That wouldn't be fair! She's bigger and older," Henry said, pouting at the very thought.

"She's not bigger by much," Nesk snickered. I ignored the statement.

"Fine, I'll just keep watch," I offered.

"No! I want Piper to play!" Jill said. Jock nodded his head.

"You just don't want her to watch because then she'll know you'll cheat!" Henry yelled. Jill hesitated before answering.

"I-I do not! You just don't want her to play because you know you'll be beat by two girls then!" Jill yelled back. I stepped between the two again.

"Henry, Jill! Both of you, stop yelling!" I told them.

"You're not my mom! You can't tell me what to do!" Henry said. Nesk quickly stepped in, giving Henry a glare.

"Henry, let Piper play, you and Jill are giving me a headache," Nesk said, still glaring at Henry. Henry quickly nodded. It was weird, but, Nesk was the leader of the group of chicks, especially Henry. If Nesk said jump, Henry would say how high.

All of us got on top of the hill and waited until Henry counted to one to go. We quickly jumped on to our stomachs' and slide down at lightning speed. I could hear the sound of ice slicing past me and see the snow fly over my head. I swerved around a rock and came up next to Henry. He gave me a quick glare, but, quickly put his eyes back in front of him after almost hitting a rock.

As I slide up a rock and flew through the air for a few seconds, I saw two figures coming this way. When I hit the ground again, I got curious with who I just saw. Maybe it was Edric, I thought, smiling to my self. I swerved around a little, looking for a big enough rock to slide over and get even higher then last time. At last, I finally spotted a huge, almost boulder size, rock in the ground that Jill just swerved away from.

As I slide up the rock, I spotted my mother and another penguin I didn't know. As I tried to figure out why they would be out here, so far from the colony, I didn't notice my descend and wasn't ready for the crash landing. When I landed in a bunch of snow, the four chicks came up behind me, stopping to look at me, then, at my mother and her friend. As I popped my head up from the snow, my mother shrieked.

"Piper! Oh dear! Are you all right?" My mother, Savannah, asked, her face full of concern. I nodded and gave a shy smile. Jill and Jock helped me out of the snow. Mother quickly came up to me and started bushing the snow off my feathers.

"Piper, dear, are you sure you're all right? You don't have a broken leg or flipper, do you?" she asked. I rolled my eyes slightly.

"I'm fine, really," I said, smiling. Though, my head did hurt with falling head first into the snow. My mother smiled, content with my answer. She turned her attention towards the person she brought over here.

"Well, anyway, Piper, this is Drine." My mother pushed me forward slightly, almost making me knock into him. Drine was as tall as any other penguin, but, very lean. He gave me a smile, but, his chocolate eyes were serious. I gave a soft smile, though, I could tell he wasn't impressed with my crash landing. My mother, thinking that a smile meant something good, gave an excited shriek.

"Oh, well, I'll give you two some space. Come along kids." My mother pushed the four chicks towards where the colony was, even with their protests. I blushed a bit behind my feathers, not liking to be alone with someone I didn't even know. It was an awkward silence for a few minutes before I finally decided to break it. I cleared my throat first to talk, but, he beat me to it.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but, you're not really my type," Drine said bluntly. I froze, not liking where this was going. I felt a bit faint too. It was silent once again; I guess Drine expected me to say something. Finally, I did.

"W-What?" I asked, sounding more hurt, then angry, like I wanted it to. Drine sighed.

"I'm sorry...It's just...I really like someone else." Even to me that sounded like a lie. After what he said, he refused to look me in the eye. I wasn't sure why I felt hurt, I mean, I didn't even know this guy. And, he was acting like I just confessed to him. But, I did know something. My mother was going to die.

–

That night, I finally found Opal. She was with my father, Thesis, talking with him about something. He was rubbing his head with his flippers, so, I knew it wasn't anything good. As I got closer into ear shot, my father and Opal stopped talking and looked at me in surprise, like, they weren't expecting me until later. My father gave me a soft smile and walked over to me, with Opal at his heals.

"Hey, Piper. Where's Drine?" Opal asked, looking around. I gave her a look that said, do-I-look-like-I-care?

"Oh." Was all that she said before giving me a quick hug and waddling off. I looked over at dad, telling from his face that he was stressed.

"What were you and Opal talking about?" I asked, being nosy. He just shook his head.

"So, I'm guessing it didn't work out with Drine?" he asked, as if Drine was his son and I was just the random penguin that was paired up with him. I snorted, which, was weird, since I didn't have a nose.

"I see, well, it wasn't my idea," he claimed. Suddenly, my mother came up behind me, out of breath.

"I heard from Hally, who heard from Inno, who heard from Ani, who heard from--"

"Dear, please get on with it," my father pleaded.

"--That it didn't work out with Drine and my girl," Savannah said, putting her flipper around me. I sighed.

–

Fast asleep. That was what I was before someone shook me awake with such force, I was surprised that they didn't break anything.

"Piper!" someone hissed. My eyes snapped open and I looked up to see Bennet and Oliver standing over me. I rubbed my eyes with my flipper and yawned.

"Yes?" I asked, a bit annoyed with being woken up.

"Edric's missing!" Bennet said, her voice sounding, surprisingly, concerned. I quickly jumped up when I heard that.

"What? What happened?" I asked, afraid something bad had happened to him.

"We're not sure, we were sleeping, and then Oliver woke up in the middle of the night and told me that Edric was gone!" Bennet was about in tears. I looked over at Oliver, hoping he had more information, but, he looked like he couldn't even speak.

"Don't worry, we'll find them," my father said, coming up behind them, with Opal and my mother with him. I nodded.

–

I cupped my flippers over my mouth, whispering Edric's name. I couldn't scream, because, that would just give away where I was to the Leopard Seals or other predictors in Antarctica. Frustrated by this, I kicked a rock, which, didn't help much; it just gave me a throbbing foot. As I slide on my stomach, going as fast as I could through the snow near the water, the sun was starting to come up. I stopped completely when I heard a noise. It sounded like an animal eating. I looked around, finally spotting a whale on the ice. From where I was, I could tell it had been there a few weeks, it was started to rot. Then I saw a figure on it, moving and riping off a piece of it. Leopard Seal.

Then, worst yet, I saw five smaller, _much _smaller, figures waddling towards it. My heart almost stopped when I saw it was Henry, Jill, Jock, Nesk, and Edric. I wanted to warn them that they were heading for a leopard seal, but, if I shouted to them, then it might go after me. Or, worse, it might notice the five chicks. I quickly dived into the water, praying that the seal didn't notice the noise. As I came back on to land, the chicks were almost to the whale. I slide on my belly and in front of them, stopping them in their path. They all gave me flabbergasted faces.

"Piper?" Edric asked, turning his head a confused way. "What are you doing here?" I would have screamed at them if it wasn't for the not so penguin friendly animal behind us.

"Do you five know how long we've been looking for you?" I kept my voice down, but, I'm pretty sure they understood how mad I was.

"Sorry, Piper," Jill said, looking like she was about to cry. "We just wanted to do this dare."

"Dare?" I asked, but, then, noticing they were changing the subject, started talking again. "Nevermind. You four are in so much trouble you have no id--" I stopped when I realized that Edric was gone. I saw Nesk smirk slightly. I turned around to see Edric standing on his head, shouting up at the leopard seal.

"Hey! You stupid seal! I betcha can't do anything now!" Edric yelled, smirking. The leopard seal eyed Edric, then the rest of us, then back to Edric. As he licked his lips and got ready to pounce on Edric, I slide over, grabbed Edric, and backed up as close to the smelling whale as I could as the seal, now on the ground, looked at Edric and I. I heard Jill scream and the seal turned to look at the four chicks.

"Run!" I yelled. Then, pecked the seal's flipper to get his attention back on me. The four chicks hesitated.

"Run!!" I yelled again. This time they did as they were told. As the seal once again turned to look at the chicks, I pushed Edric, who was crying now, past the seal and pecked again at his flipper but with more force this time. I quickly tried to climb the whale as the seal came towards me, but, I just ended up falling on top of the seal. As I slide off of it, I thought quickly. If I ran the direction the chicks ran, then I would be leading the Seal to them and the colony. As the seal shook his head, trying to get the snow off, he looked at me with hungry eyes.

I finally decided to jump into the water and lead it away from the chicks. The last thing I saw before jumping into the ice cold water was Edric finally catching up to the four other chicks, who ran as fast as they could on their little legs.

–

I wasn't sure how long I've been swimming, I just knew I was getting tired. The seal had already nipped at my feet a couple of times, but, fortunately, hadn't made anything bleed. I knew I was starting to slow when I felt the leopard seal nip at my toe again. I used all my strength to go faster. I knew I couldn't go on like this forever as I swerved through the water.

I quickly jumped out of the water and on to a break of ice for a brief second, sliding on my belly, then, sliding back into the water. I felt my energy drop fast and my self slow again. I pushed my self forward. Suddenly, I saw, in the water, that land was up ahead. I felt slight joy pass over me. As it got closer, I felt less and less sure I would get there before the seal ate me. I wasn't sure why it went after me in the first place. Was one, short penguin better then a whole whale? I didn't think so.

At last, land was only a few meters away. I jumped up, sliding on to it. I had only a few seconds to breath before the seal came sliding up behind me. I gasped for air before heading forward. But, as I slide as fast as I could, I ran into a fence. I'm not sure how I didn't notice before, but, when I hit the fence, all my lasting energy was lost. I breathed heavily as I sat up, coming face to face with the leopard seal. As it went for my leg, I tried to get through the wired fence.

Right when I got my head through, I felt a pain at my foot. I looked back to see the seal had it in it's mouth, with my body still attached. It pulled it's head back, trying to pull me from the fence. I held on to the fence, at the same time trying to wiggle my self through. I screamed as the pain became to much, but, I still held on. Finally, after the longest minutes of my life, I pulled my body through the fence and pulled my bloody foot out of the seals mouth.

As the seal started snapping at the fence, I slide away from it. I felt relived that I actually got away. I collapsed on to the snow and fell into a deep sleep. I was awoken later after I felt like I've only just feel asleep a few seconds ago by something picking me up. I felt so tired that I didn't care to look at what it was, but, I didn't feel afraid since it picked me up with such care. The last thing I felt before going back to sleep was soft hands holding me close.

–

Hoped you liked the first chapter. :3 Took me _forever _though! xD Mostly because I haven't written a chapter was over 3000 words in a long time. :3


	2. New Friends

Homesick

Fandom: Penguins of Madagascar

Rating: T

Genre: Romance/Adventure/Slight Drama

Pairing(s): Kowalski/OC

Full Summary: After being taken from her home in Antarctica, Piper ends up in the Central Park Zoo. Despite her protests, she is stuck there for a couple of months. Will she be able to stay faithful to the idea of going back, or will she become attached to the Penguins? She questions if home a few months ago, still feels like home now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Penguins of Madagascar, or any of the characters. I do, however, own my characters. :)

Comment: Yay! Second chapter! 8D Hoped I didn't bore you in the first chapter ^^;. Anyway, enjoy the story. ^^

–

My head hurt. My feet ached. My eyes felt heavy; despite the amount of sleep I've had. My eyes slowly opened, and, I came face to face with a Crabeater Seal. I just stood there and blinked. Then, realizing what was in front of me, let out a scream that could have alerted every leopard seal in Antarctica. The crabeater seal let out it's own scream and quickly ran behind a giant rock. I jumped to my feet, but, went right back down with a yelp.

I looked down at my left leg and saw a bandage on it; and, on the other leg, a tag.

"I wouldn't move so much," said the crabeater seal, coming over to where I was. As it came closer, I started to look for something to grab.

"D-Don't come any closer!" I warned, reaching over to a near by stick on the ice. The seal stopped, then, saw me trying desperately to reach for the stick-- but, failing-- slid over to it and pushed it towards me.

"Oh...Thanks..." I said, surprised. The crabeater seal nodded and smiled.

"The names Nessilda, but, my friends call me Nessy. Yours?" Nessy asked, sliding over towards me. I quickly picked up the stick in instinct, but, put it back down when I saw Nessy giving me a strange look.

"P-Piper...Um...Where am I?" I asked, finally looking around me. I was in a huge room, the walls painted as if I was outside. I was sitting on ice, but, blades of grass grew a few feet away, near the rock Nessy hide behind a few moments ago. On the other side of the room was a pond, where a few Penguins were swimming. I looked around some more and saw that it wasn't just Nessy and I in the room. There was different types of birds and seals in the room.

"Oh, that's easy. You're in the nursery," Nessy said. What she said didn't help with where I was exactly. I worried that I wasn't even in Antarctica anymore. Nessy, seeing my confused and scared expression, spoke up again.

"The nursery's in the Antarctica Preserve. You're in the nursery because a leopard seal got you real good," Nessy chuckled, but, stopped after seeing my expression. I looked back down at my leg, remembering the events of the day before...Or, was I out more than one day? I wasn't exactly sure and was afraid to ask.

"W-Well, when am I getting out of here?" I asked, my voice rising in panic. I couldn't stay in here forever, I had to make sure the chicks got back safely. Plus, I wouldn't be able to survive staying in this place the rest of my life. Nessy only shrugged to my question, which, only scared me more.

"Don't worry. I'm sure they'll set you free once your foot has healed. You're lucky that one of the humans found you in the Leopard Seal section, or, you would have been eaten alive," Nessy said, shaking her head. "I guess they didn't get there soon enough, because, one of them got yer leg."

"No! You don't understand! I was chased by one here. While I was trying to get through the fence , the thing got my leg," I explained, though, I wasn't sure why. Nessy only nodded, not really paying attention.

"Well...see yeah. I'm gonna get some sleep." Nessy waved her flipper and slid towards the rock, cuddling up next to it. Fear struck me again, feeling that I would be alone if she went to bed. I quickly spoke up.

"S-So, why are you in the nursery? You don't look injured," I asked. Nessy opened her eyes and sat up. She smiled before she talked.

"I've been here a couple of a couple of days now, so, my wounds have healed up real nice like." She nodded her head towards her back. "I pestered some birds and they pecked the hell out of my back. It was horrible. Blood was pouring out my back...It was actually sorta cool." She gave me another smile, then laughed at my expression. "I'm just kidding." I only nodded and attempted to give a smile.

–

The next day after I first got to the preserve, the humans let Nessy out of the nursery. According to Nessy, I got out a week later with good behavior and fast healing. I didn't talk to anyone else really on the preserve besides Nessy and I kept to Nessy as much as I could. All I could really do here was wait until they set me back into the wild.

"Remember what I told you," Nessy kept reminding me. "Be friendly with the humans. It's strange, but, more penguins get out of here with being real friendly with them." So, when I wasn't with Nessy, I was with a human. I would stand right next to them and just stare up at them. My favorite human though was Bobby. He was the human that fed the animals; I was pretty sure he was everyone's favorite human because of that reason. I guess I was one of his favorites, too, since, he would sometimes give me extra fish.

–

After being here three weeks, I felt my hope slowly dying. Even if it was an easy life, without having to worry about being eaten, I still missed penguins back at the colony. Nessy just kept on telling me to wait and act friendly, just wait and act friendly. I began to miss more then just my friends. I started to miss the freedom of racing down hills and sleeping away from others rather then being packed together with other penguins like in the preserve.

Finally, the morning of exactly my fourth week here, I awoke to Bobby picking me up. After I blinked a few times and had a few moments to realize what was going on, I started to wiggle.

"Stay still," Bobby said, holding on tighter, but, still gently. "I don't want you getting hurt right when we're about to send you some where." Joy struck inside my chest. I was finally going home. They were letting me free. Though, even if I wasn't listening, Bobby started to babble on and on.

As I started to think of different ways I could go depending where they let me go, I started to listen to him when he said the words, "Central Park Zoo." Nessy has told me about zoos; places where animals were kept for humans to look at them.

"You'll love it. Especially since you'll be the only girl penguin there. So, don't get into too much trouble." He gave me a wink. "After I suggested you go, after seeing how nice you were to humans, everyone here at the preserve agreed that you would just love it there," he repeated. My eyes shot open. I couldn't believe this. I must have miss heard him, I thought. But, then, he kept rambling on and on about something else so I couldn't really prove my theory.

After walking down hallways packed with other humans, I was finally put into a cage. I was praying now that this was the procedure to be released. Bobby left me and another human by the name of Ellen went up to my cage and started writing things down on her clipboard. After a couple of minutes of writing, she ripped off the paper and stuck it to my cage. A million things crossed my mind as I knew for sure now that I was going to this zoo. One of them was that I never got to say good bye to Nessy, just like I never got to say good bye to any of the other penguins of the colony.

–

I was on the boat to New York for a week. A _week. _A week of sea sickness and stuck in this tiny cage. I thought I was going to go insane until finally we reached land. I would have kissed the ground if it wasn't for the fact I was still in my cage when a man delivered me to the zoo.

I looked through the bars of my cage and saw a big sign that said something that I didn't understand. Even if I couldn't read it, I knew I was arriving at my new prison. As I was handed off to a lady named Alice; I only knew this because I heard her talking to someone on her walky talky and they said her name; I felt no need to struggle in the cage, I already wasted that attempt my first day in the stupid thing.

"Just what we need, another stupid penguin," Alice muttered. I huffed, insulted. As I was walked through the zoo, I heard the strangest noise I've ever heard. I tried with all my force to look to my left to get a look at where this noise was coming from but, I couldn't get my head through the bars to look. I passed by the noise with only hearing the words, "Maurice, turn up the music!"

Alice walked closer to a fenced in area, where, down below, was an island made of ice and water surrounding it. The closer we got, the louder the voices got from the area.

"Okay, men! Today we will being doing combat training," a voice said. As Alice stopped near the penguin area, I heard the other penguins.

"Skipper! Alice is coming!" I heard one say.

"Hurry up and scarf up all those staffs Rico!" The one, I'm guessing, named Skipper said.

Before Alice could put down the plank I'm guessing she uses to get across, she switched hands and I was now facing away from the area.

"Okay, you sneaky penguins, I brought you a little gift." And, before I even knew what happened, Alice turned my cage around, unlocked it, and dumped me out. I landed with a _thud _on my butt. I turned and looked up to give her a dirty look. Then I got to my feet, rubbing my back side. Once she left, I turned to face the other penguins. They now each had a staff in their flippers and they were in a fighting position.

"State your business! Why are you here?" Skipper, I recognized his voice, asked, a warning tone in his voice. I felt a bit frightened under their gaze, but, puffed up my chest to look unafraid.

"I would like to answer that, but I ca-"

"You can't because you're a spy!" Skipper interrupted. I gave him a strange look.

"No, I'm not a spy!" I clarified. "I can't answer that because I don't know why I'm here! I was attacked and then I escaped into this preserve, but, then they sent me here!"

"Oh. Are you sure you're not a spy?" Skipper asked.

"Yes!" I yelled.

"Okay, gesh. You don't have to shout," Skipper said, lowering his staff. "The names Skipper, these are my men, Private." He pointed to the smallest out of the group. He also looked the youngest out of the group, too. "Rico." He pointed to the one with the mohawk on his head. "And, Kowalski." He was the tallest out of the group. He sorta reminded me of Drine, except much taller and looked friendlier.

He paused, expecting me to give my name. I waited for them all to lower their staffs before speaking.

"My names Piper," I said. "I'm from Antarctica." I shook each of their flippers. Suddenly, I heard someone shout from the top of the walls.

"What is all this yellings about? Your king-which is me- is trying to shake his booty here!" The animal stopped and looked over a me. "Wait a minute...Why do I count five instead of four annoying penguins?"

"Beat it Ringtail!" Skipper shouted, folding his flipper into a fist and shaking it at Ringtail.

"That's Julian," Private whispered to me. I nodded, thankful that he told me.

–

I watched as Rico and Skipper fought, each of the staffs clashing with the other. Sitting to my right was Private, and, to his right was Kowalski. Rico blocked an attack from Skipper and jumped into the air, diving back down, aiming his staff towards Skipper. Skipper jumped backwards, and watched Rico dive into the ice.

"Okay, Piper, you're up next," Skipper said, tossing me a spare staff. I fumbled as I caught it.

"W-What?" I asked. He didn't actually expect me to fight him...did he? I mean, he beat Rico without breaking a sweat, and Rico was a million times better then me at fighting. I didn't even know _how _to fight!

"What do you mean, what? You're up next, soldier!" Skipper commanded, getting into a fighting position. I stumbled my way up there, wanting to just get this humiliation over with. I tried to imitate Skipper's position, but, I'm sure I looked funny like that. Skipper charged at me, raising his staff to attack me on my head. I wasn't sure how, but, I actually blocked it. I know. I'm shocked too.

I wasn't lucky with his next attack though. He aimed his next attack towards my stomach and hit me dead on. I dropped the staff from the blow and held my belly. He quickly took advantage of this and hit the staff on my head. Then, at my side. He did this so quickly, I completely lost all my will to breath. Finally, I went down with a _thunk. _

"...Ow," I muttered, my eyes closed and rubbing my head. I refused to to get up, afraid if I did, he would start attacking me again. After a few moments, I took the risk and opened my eyes. I stared up at worried Private.

"Are you okay, Piper?" he asked, giving his flipper to help me up. I took it, but hesitated to get up fully until I saw that Rico had swallowed all the staffs.

"I-I'm fine," I said, a bit embarrassed.

"Kowalski, can you make sure Piper's alright?" Private asked, still looking worried.

"No, really. I'm fine," I said as Kowalski came up to me and started to examine my areas of injury. I'm not sure why, but I blushed. Luckily, my feathers kept it hidden.

"She's fine, no areas in need of medical attention," Kowalski said with a smile. Private smiled as well.

"That's good. Skippa, you should have gone easier on Piper, she's new," Private scolded. Skipper just huffed.

"I needed to see how well she was in fighting...Obviously, we have some work to do," Skipper said with a sigh. I didn't like where this was going.

–

Okay. I admit it. I miss the preserve. At least at the preserve I didn't have to _do _anything. Skipper's been making me run obstacle courses in the park all day! And I thought leopard seals were scary. Psh. That's nothing compared to some of these courses.

"Okay, soldier! That's all for today," Skipper said with a smirk, heading back to the zoo. I would have collapsed on to the ground if I actually knew where the zoo was. I wanted to leave, like, badly, but, being stuck alone in the park wasn't going to help anything except getting me eaten by a coyote. So, as soon as he said that, I quickly followed, despite how much my body ached.

As I slide down to their headquarters, Private started showing me around as soon as I got inside. It was actually really nice inside, even having a TV like the humans back at the preserve had.

"And, this is where we all sleep," Private said happily. "Tomorrow, Rico and Kowalski are suppose to make another bunk for you." I smiled and nodded. Even though Private was the youngest out of the group, he was as tall as me. I felt so short.

"Over there is Rico's doll." Private pointed to a doll with bright blond hair in a pink dress that Rico was holding. "I wouldn't suggest touching it, or even going near it. Rico's a bit over protective of it," Private whispered to me. I nodded, a bit creped out.

"And over there--"

"Private! Could you keep it down? I'm trying to plan for tomorrow!" Skipper yelled, annoyed by the noise. "I'm pretty sure Piper knows where everything else is by now."

"But, Skippa," Private whinnied. "I thought we were giving Piper a tour of the zoo tomorrow?" Skipper sighed.

"You three can give her a tour, but, I'm going to plan for the afternoon then," Skipper said, obviously annoyed that his plans were cut short.

That night I slept in Private's bunk and he slept with Skipper. It felt weird sleeping in the bed, since, I've slept on ice my whole life. I still couldn't believe how strange these penguins were, I mean, they acted as if they were spies. Plus, finding out that Rico was dating a doll was still creeping me out.

Finally, after much tossing and turning, I fell asleep. I dreamed of being back in Antarctica with everyone. Throughout the dream, my heart ached, knowing that I was still so far away from home.

–

Hoped you liked the second chapter~ I was actually surprised to see people reading this. xD Well, to those who're reading this, review please. ^^


	3. Learning

Homesick

Fandom: Penguins of Madagascar

Rating: T

Genre: Romance/Adventure/Slight Drama

Pairing(s): Kowalski/OC

Full Summary: After being taken from her home in Antarctica, Piper ends up in the Central Park Zoo. Despite her protests, she is stuck there for a couple of months. Will she be able to stay faithful to the idea of going back, or will she become attached to the Penguins? She questions if home a few months ago, still feels like home now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Penguins of Madagascar, or any of the characters. I do, however, own my characters. :)

Comment: Omg! Third chapter! :D I'm amazed that I'm sorta, not really, getting these chapters out every week. It would have been out sooner, hopefully I'll get the next chapter out next Friday or Saturday, but, I've been so busy this weekend, even busier then before. *sigh* Anyway, enjoy the story. :D

–

After two hours of walking around the zoo, I feet felt numb. Though, I was glad to go. I got to meet Marlene and Maurice and King Julian and Mort, who, according to Private, Skipper calls Sad Eyes. I also met other animals; even if they weren't as friendly as the others. Though, the exhibit that fascinated me the most was the Chimpanzee's Habitat. Mostly because one of the chimp's, Phil, could read the humans letters. And, the others could tell this since I wouldn't shut up about it.

"You think they might be able to teach me how to read?" I wondered, thinking out loud. Kowalski only shrugged, finally learning to ignore me, and Rico just grunted. I looked over at Private, hoping I haven't bored him yet.

"I'm not sure, Piper. Maybe though," Private said with a smile. I smiled back, but, after that, I finally stayed quiet. I looked around me, at the sky, at the trees, at the benches. The zoo really wasn't that horrible of a place. I remembered back to this morning, wondering when the next boat to Antarctica would arrive.

–

Only a couple of hours before, I was awoken by a trumpet, hitting my head on the bottom of the bunk above me. I rubbed it and looked over to where Skipper was standing.

"Okay me-" Skipper gave me a quick glance."-...Team! Rise and shine!" Skipper announced, flippers on his hips, a smirk and a determined look on his face. I yawned and jumped out of my bunk, the last to stand in line.

"Today, we'll be doing drills an-"

"Skipper," Private interrupted, raising his flipper. "I thought we were showing Piper around today?" Skipper looked irritated, as if he was hoping Private would have forgotten. He let out an annoyed sigh.

"Okay, fine, but, be back in two hours!" Skipper demanded, waddling over to his plans for the afternoon. The rest of us started walking over to the exit of their Headquarters. Once out, Private started talking.

"So, Piper, how long are you staying here?" He asked, a smile on his face. I was about to answer when Kowalski spoke.

"What do you mean, how long is she going to stay? I thought she was part of the team now?" Kowalski asked. They all looked at me.

"Uh...Well...I'm not sure how long I'll be staying. I need to get back home to Antarctica...so..." I was blushing like mad.

"Oh..." Kowalski said.

"How are you getting back?" Private asked. My eyes opened wide, realizing that I never figured out how I was getting back. I just thought I'd hop on one of the boats and hope that it takes me back home.

"I-I'm not sure..." I said, slumped.

"We could figure out whens the next boat to Antarctica is," Kowalski said.

"Really?" I asked, shine in my eyes. Just the thought of going back tonight would have made me happy enough to kiss him. My face went bright red again at the thought.

"Of course," Private answered. Rico grunted with a smile.

"It'll have to be after Skipper's training though, the tour of the zoo will take approximately two hours," Kowalski explained. I nodded, fine with waiting a couple of hours.

–

After many gruesome drills that afternoon, the night finally came. And, with it, came the opportunity to break into the zoo office. Unfortunately for the male penguins, Mason and Phil came along to read when the next ship will sail out to Antarctica. And, it was unfortunately to them because they knew that I would never shut up about it later on tonight.

I stood in the back, standing on my toes to see over their heads to see the computer screen. I wasn't sure _why _I wanted to see it; I mean, I wouldn't have been able to read it anyway. Finally, after many clicking of the mouse, they finally came to the page. Phil made these movements with his hands, and Mason translated.

"He says that the next ship to Antarctica won't be until early October. So, since it's late July now, you'll unfortunately have to wait three months until you can return home," Mason explained with a shrug. A look of disappointment spread over my face. I wanted to ask why so long, but, I was afraid my voice would choke if I said anything. Luckily, Private must have read my mind and asked for me.

"Why three months?" he asked. Mason looked over at Phil, who, looked over at the computer and then shrug, indicating that it didn't say. Mason turned back to me.

"Probably because of the harsh winter that's going on right now," Mason guessed. Oh yeah, I thought. I had already been away from home for more than a month. Skipper interrupted my thoughts by putting a flipper on my shoulder. I looked up at him, though, he wasn't much taller then me.

"Don't worry, Piper. When that ship leaves port, you'll be on it," Skipper gave a smile, which, was only a bit different than his usual smirk. "But, until then, I'll train you so you can survive even better down there." I smiled softly, glad Skipper was trying to cheer me up; which, sorta worked. He was right. I should spend my days here learning new things to bring down to the penguins in Antarctica.

–

Before we departed with the chimps, I quickly waddled up to Mason and Phil.

"Uh...Mason, Phil. I wanted to know if you guys could teach me how to read?" I asked bluntly. Mason exchanged looks with Phil, sharing some sort of chimpanzee telepathy.

"Um...I'm sorry but-"

"Please, please, please!" I begged. I really wanted to learn to read. Even just a little. I could learn so much more if I knew how to read; even back in Antarctica it would be helpful if I ever went back to the preserve.

"Well...I guess we could try," Mason finally said after a few minutes of my begging. I smiled brightly, thanking them over a million times.

"Piper! Front and center, soldier!" Skipper called, waiting with the rest of the penguins.

That night I lay awake in my new bunk. I felt many different emotions right then, but, the one that most stood out was determination. I was going to learn to fight and read in these next three months, even if it killed me. I finally closed my eyes and tried to sleep, but, it was rather hopeless; one of the penguins snores. I put the pillow over my head and let the day dreams of getting home drift me off to sleep.

–

A couple days after that night, after countless hours of training with Skipper, I finally had an hour to breath. But, this free time was spent with my first reading session with the chimps.

It went by smoothly...sorta. My lesson was about learning the alphabet; I'm just lucky that I could remember the song, or I would probably never would have remembered it. I also learned what sounds some of the vowels make.

Though, our lesson was cut short when 'King' Julian came to the chimp's habitat and insisted on a dance party after the sky god told him that it was time to 'shake his booty'. I quickly made my escape back to the Penguin's Headquarters before I was seen.

–

I stood back and watched as Private fought Skipper; hand to hand combat as Skipper put it. Private aimed for Skipper's stomach, but, he quickly blocked and flipped Private over him, who, land on this feet and in a fighting stance.

Skipper did this cool hand motion, indicating for Private to attack first. Private jumped into that air and kicked at Skipper, who, went flying back, but, quickly got back up and attacked Private. This went on for a good five minutes before Skipper finally kicked Private in the head and he went down. I went over to help him up.

"You okay?" I asked, while getting some ice for him to put on this wounded skull.

"Yeah, thank you." He pressed the ice softly to his head, jerked it back, then placed it on even softer. He soon got off the floor and waddled over to a chair to watch the next fight. Which, was me and Skipper. I was going to be _killed. _

I got up and walked over to opposite side of Skipper, praying in my head that I would at least get nice flowers on my grave every anniversary of my death, and decided against a fighting pose since I knew I would just look like an idiot. Skipper striked first.

And, _again, _I blocked his first attack. I was so amazed by this, I actually started thinking I might win. I thought I had actually _had _learned something in all those drills and courses. I actually might have had a slight chance of winning if I hadn't zoned out and started to day dream about it. That's when I went down with a single kick to the legs.

I'm pretty sure I hit the back of my head on something, because everything went black for a couple of seconds. Then, I my eyes fluttered open, to stare up at a million penguins it seems.

"Piper? Are you alrigh'?" all five of the Private's asked.

"How many flipper's am I holding up?" Kowalski asked, seemingly holding up ten. I shook my head and quickly jumped to my feet.

"I-I'm fine, really." Though, my head was still spinning a bit. Skipper nodded at this and quickly forgot about it.

"Okay, Rico, you're up nex-"

"Wait! I want to try one more time! Please?" I asked, eager to at least try once more. Skipper sighed but agreed. I smiled, walking across from him again.

Skipper went for my feet again, but, I quickly jumped out of the way just in time. I smiled when I dodged, but, quickly remembered not to get cocky; unless I wanted to end up on the floor again. Skipper jumped forward, directing his flipper towards my stomach. Surprisingly, I jumped to the floor; probably the most pathetic move ever, but, at that moment I didn't care.

Skipper gave me a strange look and started aiming his feet near my beak. I quickly jumped to my feet again and tried to karate chop his shoulder; like I saw on this show the night I watched TV with the penguins. Unfortunately, he quickly caught it, twisted me around and flipped me. I landed beak first into some unfinished popcorn that Rico was eating before hand. Despite my pitiful fight with Skipper, that was the longest I'd ever lasted in a fight. Maybe I was actually getting some where.

"You okay, Piper?" Private asked, rushing to my side. I rubbed my beak and sat up with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

–

A week past and I had another session with the chimps. This time we got through a full two hours before it got dark and I went back to the headquarters. I felt as if I was learning, but, only two sessions a week wouldn't have me reading books by the time I go back to Antarctica.

I quickly thought up another way I could start reading fast. Kowalski. Just thinking about him made me blush; I wanted to bang my head against the wall. As I watched him mixing chemicals, I could only watch hopelessly in the corner, trying to find the courage to approach him.

Finally, gathering all the strength in my legs, scurried over to where he was.

"Uh...Hey, Kowalski," I said, trying to sound casual. He jumped and almost dropped his cylinder, but, quickly caught it. I felt bad for scaring him.

"Sorry...I didn't mean to scare you." I watched as he carefully and silently placed the cylinder down. He took off his safety glasses and turned to face me.

"It's fine. I was just trying to work on a new type of weapon," he said with a sigh.

"Really? Sounds interesting. What does it do?" I asked, interested. Though, I didn't really understand how playing with chemicals would make a new weapon. A bomb maybe? He smiled, excited that someone wanted to hear about it.

"Well," he started. "When I mix together these two chemicals and add a drop of this one, then pour it onto this-" He held up a power saw. "-I can make it go even faster and it may even be able to cut through diamond easily even."

"Cool!" I said, looking at it. Though, I took a step back, in case the thing was active at the moment. Kowalski smiled again, happy to have someone interested in his work. I blushed slightly; thank god for the black feathers.

"Oh yeah, what was it that you wanted to say?" Kowalski asked.

"Oh, yeah." I blushed a bit deeper. "Uh...I was wondering, since I'm not getting that far with the chimps, maybe you could help me with reading too?" Kowalski's face flushed with embarrassment.

"O-Oh...uh...well..." Kowalski fought to find the right words. "I-I can't read, P-Piper." I turned as red as the sun.

"O-Oh. I-I'm so sorry," I said, walking away in a daze. My face was probably beet red when I walked past Private, who, asked me if I was alright.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," I said, my face still feeling hot. I glanced at Kowalski from across the room, who, was working on this weapon again; though, his face was red as well. Private looked over at my glance then back at me. Then he smiled. I felt something bad was about to happen.

"Piper," Private whispered. "Do you like Kowalski?" I felt faint. I was thankful that he whispered this, though, Rico was busy with his date with the doll and Skipper was planning how training for tomorrow.

"O-Of course I like him," I whispered back, trying not to make my voice sound as squeaky as a mouse. I failed. "He's my f-friend." Private gave me a you-know-what-I-mean look. I was probably a deep scarlet by now. I wasn't sure what to say next.

"You're blushing, Piper," Private said with a giggle. I wasn't sure how, but, I blushed even deeper. I felt if I blushed anymore, I would run out of shades of red and start turning purple. Actually, any color would have been better at this point.

"S-So?" I wasn't sure why, but, I didn't want to except it, not even to my self. Maybe I just didn't want anything holding me back from going home.

"_So, _you like Kowalski," Private said this a little louder, which, made me jump and tackle him to the floor by instinct.

"Piper?" Skipper asked. "What are you _doing?_" I quickly got off of Private and helped him to his feet.

"Nothing," I said with a nervous smile. Skipper looked over at Private, but, he just smiled too. Skipper finally went back to his planning.

"Sorry...it's just...please don't tell anyone!" I begged. Private just giggle.

"Of course I wouldn't tell anyone," he said with his British accent. I let out a sigh of relief, though, I wasn't sure why. I knew I could trust Private. He was a great friend.

–

That night it started to rain, _hard. _I heard the thumping of the rain as I tried to sleep. _Thump. Thump. Thump. _Even if never really rained in Antarctica, I liked the rain; just not the thunder and lightning that sometimes came with it. Actually, this was the second big storm since I've been in New York.

The first night, I wasn't really sure what it was. I just layed there the whole night, frightened by the bombing noises. I was too frightened to move or even breath it seemed. In the morning I asked Private about it and said that it was just thunder and there was nothing to worry about. Even if Private had said that, I still felt very small and weak with the explosions going on outside.

I held my breath as I counted slowly in my head until the next explosion. One. Two. Three. Four. Fiv- _Boom! _I let out the deep air I was holding in my lungs as the sound came to an end. I still refused to move though. As another explosion came, I let out a whimpering sound. Suddenly, I heard someone move in their bunk.

"Piper?" I heard Kowalski call. He appeared beside my bunk in a second. I blinked at him, but, then closed my eyes tight as the thunder shook the headquarters again.

"Are you okay?" Kowalski asked. I started nodding yes, but, when another explosion came, I shook my head no furiously.

"It's okay. Thunder is just the sound that lightning makes. The lightning is so hot that it heats the air around it extremely..." his voice came to a halt. Probably because of the confused look on my face.

He sighed, looking around at the other penguins to see if they were awake and crawled in next to me. I would have probably fainted having Kowalski so close to me, especially having him next to me in my bed, but, at the moment I was just so happy to have someone near during this storm.

"Thank you," I mumbled.

"Everything is alright," he kept telling me. I fell asleep, leaning on the wall, but, with a smile on my face knowing that I had Kowalski here to help me get through that night.

–

Urg. Sorry this took so long to get out. I had some writers block. Anyway, I hope you are enjoying this story, because it's so much fun to write. :D Review please~! ^^


	4. Flooding

Homesick

Fandom: Penguins of Madagascar

Rating: T

Genre: Romance/Adventure/Slight Drama

Pairing(s): Kowalski/OC

Full Summary: After being taken from her home in Antarctica, Piper ends up in the Central Park Zoo. Despite her protests, she is stuck there for a couple of months. Will she be able to stay faithful to the idea of going back, or will she become attached to the Penguins? She questions if home a few months ago, still feels like home now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Penguins of Madagascar, or any of the characters. I do, however, own my characters. :)

Comment: ZOMG! CHAPTER 4! 8D *is amazed that she actually got this out in the same week as the last chapter...even if no one is reading this xD*

–

The next morning, the rain didn't stop. After days went by without the rain stopping, including the thunder coming and going, I'm pretty sure all the penguins knew of my fear. Kowalski explained that I was an Astraphobic; then he had to explain what it meant, which was that I had a phobia of thunder, after seeing all the confused faces.

And, the thing that was as scary as the thunder, was that Skipper planned to break my fear. Though, I think he finally gave up after an attempt that included needles; Rico's idea. So, he finally dropped the idea and every time it thundered, he let me skip drills; not like we could really go outside when it's raining anyway.

After a week of nothing, but, rain storms, something even worse happened. The zoo started to flood. At first you couldn't even tell, but, now, we spend most of our time in the headquarters because we have to swim to get in and out. The water in the Penguin habitat is on it way to reaching the fence above it.

And, it wasn't just the penguin habitat that was flooded, all the other animal's habitats were starting to flood as well. The lemur's habitat was drenched with rain so badly, that, it popped their bounce house. Marlene's habitat was so flooded that she had to retreat back to the headquarters with us.

Even Mason and Phil's habitat was being flooded; though, they didn't really seem to mind, since, they spent most of their time in their tree, but, they hated that the rain drenched everything and that lightning was only inches away from hitting the tree. Though, at this moment, Skipper was coming up with a plan to stop all this flooding.

"Kowalski, how's that weather machine coming along?" Skipper asked. Hey, I never said it was a great plan. Kowalski looked at this clipboard and shook his head in disappointment.

"It won't be ready until another 50 years..." Kowalski said with a sigh.

"Drats." Skipper started to pace back and forth. Marlene and Private kept eying the window with nervousness. Skipper stopped pacing and looked at what they were both staring at.

"It looks like we don't have a lot of time before the water becomes too dense and breaks the window, Skipper," Kowalski frowned. Skipper nodded, irritation on his face. I knew that this cut into his plans. If the glass broke, then, everything in the headquarters would be destroyed, including his plans.

"Wha' do we do?" Private asked, concern on his face. Skipper stood completely still for so long, I actually wondered if he had become stone. But, finally he sighed and started talking again.

"Well...we don't have much time before water starts pouring in, which, won't be a problem for escaping, since, we're all aquatic, but, we can't bring anything that's not water proof with us," Skipper explained, rubbing his temple with his flipper. "So, we'll have to regroup on land and create a plan there."

Everyone started moving after that, grabbing things that were of importance, and water proof. Rico could only swallow so much before his stomach started hurting. The only real thing I wanted to grab was a children's book I've been attempting to read these past weeks; since, I needed some sort of distraction when it started thundering, I actually got a lot of reading done.

After ten minutes of everyone scrambling, I heard a big cracking sound coming from my left. I turned around to see everyone staring at the window, which, had a large crack across it. This just made everyone go faster. After another, long, tense minute, the glass finally gave way and we sprung a leak. Water started pouring in, inch by inch, until, the glass gave way and we had a fountain of water spraying in.

"Okay, team! On the count of three, Rico's going to open the hatch to the door and I want everyone out by the time I count to 4! Got it?" He asked. We all nodded. Skipper counted slowly. _One... Two... Three! _Rico opened the hatch and gallons of water started spilling in. I quickly took a deep breath and dived into the water. Private went first, then Marlene. Next, Kowalski, me, Rico, and then, finally, Skipper.

We all went up to the surface as fast as we could. When I got to the top, I quickly counted to make sure Private, Marlene, and Kowalski were already up. They were; their head's bobbing with the waves the rain was making. Not even a second later, Rico and Skipper came to the surface as well.

"Good work team! Now, all we need to do is get to the fence and operate a plan," Skipper said. We all nodded the best we could floating in the water. We all started heading to the right, Marlene now in the front, since, Private claimed that he was starting to get tired. Marlene grabbed the bars of the fence and hoisted her self up.

Just as Marlene bended down and extended her paw to Private, a bolt of lightning hit a tree next to the penguin habitat and a branch went flying off. Private closed his eyes tight as the branch was about to strike him, but, Skipper quickly swam over and just barely pushed Private out of the way of the branch. Unfortunately, Skipper wasn't fast enough to the dodge the branch him self and it smashed into his skull. Immediately, he started to sink along with the wood.

"Skipper!" Every screamed, horror on each our faces. Rico, Kowalski, and Private immediately dived down and I quickly followed suit. After a couple of moments of pushing down, we finally caught up to the unconscious Skipper. Private tugged him off the branch and Rico helped Private move Skipper towards the surface; Kowalski and me followed.

Marlene was on the fence, waiting for us. Private and Rico handed her Skipper. And, then, once he was safely on the ground, at that moment coughing up water, Marlene helped each of us out of the water. At that moment, I would have given anything for a warm, _dry _place to stand. But, unfortunately, we stood in the cold rain, making sure Skipper was alright.

–

After a few minutes of gawking over Skipper, making sure he didn't break a wing or a foot, and then after hacking up all the water, we finally got a plan together. But, sadly, I wasn't paying attention when Skipper was explaining the plan because I was too busy being scared of the now bombing thunder.

"...iper...Piper!" I heard some yell, waving a paw in front of my face. I snapped out of my trance.

"W-What?" I asked, looking over at Marlene. The penguins were staring at me too. "Sorry...the thunder distracted me..." I mumbled the last part.

"As I was saying, me and Private will check on the east part of the zoo, Kowalski and Rico will check the north and west, and Marlene and Piper will check the south for any animals that need rescuing, is that clear?" Everyone nodded for the millionth time. "Good. When you've checked your part of the zoo, come back with the animals to this spot and we'll continue with the plan." Everyone started to head their separate ways.

I was about to ask Marlene what the rest of the plan was, but felt like I didn't need to, since, I was pretty sure Skipper would go over it when we regrouped. I realized then that I hadn't really spent a lot of time with Marlene since I've been to the zoo; there really wasn't a lot of female animals around here to hang with. Though, so far, she seemed like a good, down to earth type of animal, which, was a good change from the crazy, but fun, penguins.

As we small talked while walking, we stumbled upon the Lemur's habitat.

"Hey! Look, it's Piper and Marlene!" Maurice yelled, pointing at us from a palm tree he was in.

"Youuu whooo! Silly penguin and otter! Up here!" Julian waved. He was also in the palm tree; with Mort as his feet. Julian looked down at Mort, gave him a glare and tried to shake him off. After a few minutes with this, King Julian finally gave up.

"Uh...Don't worry! We'll get you down!" I yelled, though, I wasn't sure how. Their habitat was just as badly flooded as ours; if not, worse. The water was already up to where the throne sat. Marlene poked me in the side and pointed to a long branch that must have been struck down with lightning. After a few attempts, Marlene and me were finally able to lift it and drag if over to the fence.

We finally pushed it and landed it softly on the watery ground, next to the throne. Marlene and me crossed it to where the palm tree where the three lemurs were hiding.

"Uh...jump!" Marlene yelled, holding out her paws. I did the same, but, wasn't so sure that I could catch anyone besides maybe Mort. Mort was first to jump, after Julian finally kicked him off his feet. He landed face first in the water a few feet from us.

Julian was next. Marlene and I caught him together, though, he made it harder on us because he decided to land in a strange pose, with his head resting on his hand. We quickly dropped him.

"Come on, Maurice!" I yelled, hoping to get this over with already. Maurice shook his head, persistent. By the time we finally convinced Maurice to jump down, Julian was almost already to the fence. We almost fell over when Marlene and I caught Maurice. We let Maurice go first across the branch/bridge we made. Then, Marlene and then me.

By the time we checked out the south of the zoo and headed back to where we were suppose to regroup, we could hear the bickering from a mile away. As Marlene and I approached the spot, we saw tons of animals there. They were yelling at each other, each having a pissed look on their face. I couldn't blame them. I was tired of these storms and I really wanted to be warm and dry at the moment.

"What are we gonna do? Our homes are flooded!" yelled an angry elephant.

"And, now, we have no power!" screamed another animal. Skipper whistled loudly and started to calm everyone down.

"Fighting and screaming isn't going to help the situation!" Skipper yelled, his flippers in the air.

"Skipper, I was thinking. And, it shouldn't have flooded this quick and this high in only a week," Kowalski explained. "If my theory is correct, the drain that is suppose to suck up all the extra water is either clogged up or closed." Skipper nodded, listening, encouraging for Kowalski to say more.

"It seems all we really need to do open it or unclog what ever clogged it in the first place. Then, everything should start draining and go back to normal." Skipper smiled.

"Good job, Kowalski! Okay, team, we're going down to the drain and open it back up." Skipper turned to the rest of the animals. "Everyone else, stay here. We'll be back as soon as possible. Find a safe place to stay until we get back."

–

The way down to the drain was as about as fun as standing in the rain. It was damp and muggy. The only difference was that instead of rain coming down, droplets came down, making annoying sounds as it hits the floor.

"How much longer, Skippa?" Private asked, getting extremely tired by now. I was the same though. It was already past midnight. Getting down here took longer then expected. Skipper ignored the question, which, I took as that he didn't know; Kowalski was the one with the map.

Before going down here, we had to go into the zoo office and get blue prints of the zoo and what's under it. It's much harder to understand if you can't read it; you only know what's what with the pictures.

"Now...we need to take a left here, then go a couple of meters down, then go right...And, then, we should be there," Kowalski said with a smile, proud of him self. I heard Private, and my self, sigh, relief passing over us. We really wanted to go to bed. But, now that I think about it...where would we sleep after we're all done with this?

We turned left and kept on walking. It was pretty slick down there and I was amazed that I didn't slip and fall. _Thud..._Nevermind. Private helped me up. As we rounded the next corner, I could see the drain. It was big, square, and white. It also closed. One side of it had water spilling over on to the floor and on the other there was only about three inches of water in it.

"Hey! Is this the lever that opens the drain?" Private asked, pointing to a silver lever, with a bright red knob. Kowalski scanned the blue prints, looked back at it, then back at the paper. Finally, he smiled and nodded. He walked over to it and pulled it back; well...he tried too. It just wouldn't budge.

"I-It's stuck!" He called. Rico and Private went over to help him, but, it didn't even move a millimeter. Skipper and I went over to help. Not even with all five of us trying to pull it, it didn't move. We pushed and pushed, but, the damn thing just wouldn't move. I huffed.

"This isn't work. Rico, do you have anything that could blow the drain open?" Skipper questioned, letting go of the lever. Rico nodded and quickly barfed up a stick of dynamite; that was already lit.

"I'm not sure about that, Skipper. It might blow more then just the drain," Kowalski said. Rico frowned and swallowed the dynamite again.

"It looks like someone bent the lever, that could be why it would move," Private observed. Kowalski took a closer look.

"He's right! Now, all we need to do is bend it back and we should be able to push it forward." We attempted to smack it with a book, a bat, and a fish. All failed. Rico finally barfed up hammer and I think that did the trick. But, the lever still refused to move.

"Why won't it work?!" Kowalski yelled, irritated. I walked over to the drain, making sure not to slip on the water, and jumped up to it to get a better look. It seemed as if a rock was in the corner, preventing it from opening.

"I think I found the problem!" I yelled. Soon, the rest of the penguins were up here with me.

"Great, now, Rico, I need you to hold my feet as I go down there and remove the rock," Skipper explained, getting ready to jump in.

"I'm not so sure if that's a good idea, Skipper. We need someone heavier, or, you'll just go crashing into the hatch before even being able to get to the rock, even with Rico holding on to your ankles," Kowalski explained.

"Heavier?" Skipper thought out loud. He looked in my direction. I felt offended...but, agreed anyway. Though, the only problem with this was the I was too short to reach the rock. So, Skipper had to hold Rico's ankles, while, Rico held mine. After several swings with the bat, the rock finally came loose. I quickly grabbed it before it could go back to the same spot.

"Okay! Now, Private!" I yelled, being lifted back up. Private quickly pulled the lever with ease. The blocked water came pouring through, almost overflowing.

–

When we finally got back up to land, the sun was rising. I felt like I could pass out right on the concrete. After being outside for a few moments, I realized something. It stopped raining. Stopped...raining...I wanted to jump for joy!

"You guys did it!" Marlene yelled, greeting us with a smile. We gave her a smile back.

"Oh, and by the way, did you know why the drain was blocked?" She asked. Skipper gave her a confused look.

"Well, it seems some young ducks found their way down there and were playing hacky sack with rocks. One went too fast, hit the lever, bending it, and then bounced off it and into the water." Well, that would explain a lot. I yawned softly, wanting to go to bed already. It seems that after we unclogged the drain, all the other animals went back to their habitat.

Luckily for us, Marlene offered to let us stay at her place until we got everything fix at the headquarters. I was very thankful for the bed she gave me.

As I was drifting off to sleep, I realized that that was my first mission. I had offended heard of amazing missions the penguins had been on before I got here...and now I was part of one. It made me feel good inside, and, for once, instead of dreaming of Antarctica, I dreamed of the zoo and the many wonderful animals in it.

When I awoke next afternoon, the sun was shining through. The warmth felt great.

–

xD I worked on this all night, so, if it seems sorta strange, you know why. Well, I'm just glad I got through this chapter, it was another one I hadn't planned all the way through. The next one should be more interesting, because she's going home. :D Review please~!


	5. A Goodbye

Homesick

Fandom: Penguins of Madagascar

Rating: T

Genre: Romance/Adventure/Slight Drama

Pairing(s): Kowalski/OC

Full Summary: After being taken from her home in Antarctica, Piper ends up in the Central Park Zoo. Despite her protests, she is stuck there for a couple of months. Will she be able to stay faithful to the idea of going back, or will she become attached to the Penguins? She questions if home a few months ago, still feels like home now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Penguins of Madagascar, or any of the characters. I do, however, own my characters. :)

Comment: :D Chapter 5! Yay! *is running out of things to put here _*

–

After two months here, I was finally able to read a sentence all by my self. I felt so proud. I'm also lasting longer and longer in fights; though, I'm nowhere near as good as any of the other penguins. And, luckily, after that flooding incident, there hasn't been anymore thunder storms lately.

But, probably the best thing that has happened in these past weeks is that I became pretty close to Marlene. After spending a couple of days with her after the flood, we learned that we had a lot in common and became instant friends. Actually, any free time I didn't use up with my lessons with the chimps or with Skipper, I was over with Marlene.

Today, Skipper gave us all the day off; Kowalski working on his invention, Rico going off on a date in the city with his doll girlfriend, and Private and Skipper were just relaxing, drinking some of Private's infamous love smoothies. I was on my way to Marlene's.

I didn't have to go to Phil and Mason's until around noon and that was still hours away. I was thankful for the day off; places hurt I didn't even knew I had. As I walked past the lemur habitat, I had to cover my ears; Julian had it so loud, I was surprised the lemurs weren't blown away by the volume.

People were in front of the lemur habitat, watching and smiling and pointing at the lemurs dance. Even if music had fascinated me slightly, I had no interest in dancing. It was just the movement of the hips; or, at least, that's all it seemed to look like to me. Obviously, I knew nothing, because the humans seemed to be tranced by the lemurs.

As I finally got past the loud habitat, almost getting stepped on twice, I took a turn and was at the fence of the otter habitat. As I walked into the cave, Marlene was sitting there, eating a clam, or, at least trying to get it open. At last she did, smiled, but, finally noticing I was there, put down her food to greet me.

"What are you doing here?" she asked cheerfully. I knew she rarely expected me to come over, since, I was almost always busy.

"Skipper gave us the day off," I explained. I sighed happily as I sat down on the floor. My feet hurt like hell. So did every other part of my body; you would have thought I'd have gotten used to it by now. Pff. No.

"That's great." Marlene started eating her food. When I first started talking to Marlene, she was very curious of the outside world. She was raised in captivity, and the only time she had been outside was to get snow cones with the penguins; though, she claims that she doesn't remember a thing. I heard about that story from Private, except Marlene went completely crazy, even becoming attracted to Julian. It seems, though, Marlene really didn't remember anything.

"So," Marlene swallowed. "You should only be here for another month?" she asked sadly.

"Yeah..." I have been excited for that day for what seems like years. Though, at that moment, I was having mixed feelings of sadness and dread. I wasn't sure what I dread though. I was going home, wasn't this what I wanted?

"We'll miss you when you're gone, you know. Skipper has been a bit calmer and less strict since you came along," Marlene smiled. Skipper? Stricter then how he's now? The thought made me shiver. I wasn't sure if I was suppose to answer or not, but, I did anyway.

"You think so?" I asked. Marlene nodded. The feeling of dread only increased. Why wouldn't it go away?

"It has been a lot of fun around here. Though, I do the races we used to have back in Antarctica," I said more to my self then her. I wanted to cling desperately to something to miss in the South Pole right then.

"Yeah, I guess we don't have a lot of snowy hills in New York," Marlene said. There was silence for a few minutes, neither of us saying anything, which, was strange, since, Marlene and me usually never stopped chatting.

I wondered if she was dreading me leaving. Could that be the cause of the silence? I thought to my self. Though, I quickly demised the idea from my thoughts. I wasn't leaving for another month, so, she shouldn't be sad yet.

The feeling of dread was stuck inside my stomach like swallowing chewed gum. I wished it'd go away, since, I was perfectly fine with going back. I really, deeply, wanted to go back. Back in Antarctica was my friends, my family, my hills. There was Edric, and Jill, and Jock. There was Opal, mother and father. And, there was even Henry and Nesk.

Marlene spoke up again.

"You know, you never told me a lot about Antarctica. How are the people there? Are they nice? Do you talk with your family? Tell me about your friends there." Marlene kept at the questions, while, I just thought about them in my mind.

How are the people there? Okay, I guess. Are they nice? Sure, when they want to be. Do you talk to your family? Yeah, though, I try to avoid them. Tell you about my friends there? I don't...really have many there. Except for Edric, and all the other little chicks. But, before that, who did I usually hang out with? My mind went blank.

"Hello? Earth to Piper?" Marlene waved a paw in my face. I snapped out of my trance.

"S-Sorry...Uh...I think I should get going, I don't want to be late for my session with the chimps." I quickly hurried off, though, I still had plenty of time before the reading session. Like, around two more hours.

–

I spent the last two hours walking around the zoo. Then, after getting tired, spent the last hour with Private and Skipper, sitting with them and sipping smoothies. Then, I went over to the chimps and learned for what seemed like too long. Today, I just wanted to crawl into my bed. My head hurt; I was so confused.

As I climbed into bed, thankful that I didn't have to do anything after I got back from the chimps habitat, Skipper stopped to talk to me.

"You seem sorta out of it today, Soldier. Something bothering you?" Skipper asked, a bit concern in his voice. His caring shocked me a bit. Though, I shouldn't have been, Skipper was very kind when he needed to be. I gave him a fake smile.

"Yes, everything is fine. I'm just really tired." I gave a fake yawn. Skipper studied me for a second, before finally taking the bait and believing me. I didn't need Skipper to worry about me. Plus, I was perfectly fine. I just need sleep, I told my self. That's all I need, a good rest. I cuddled into the pillow, but, sleep didn't come so easily.

My head kept going back to the questions Marlene had asked me. But, the thing that made me even more upset was the fact that the dread grew more and more with every question. Though, there was a question in the back of my mind I kept dodging, not wanting to answer it. Finally, my thoughts had driven me to sleep. I didn't dream that night.

–

The feeling in my stomach grew more powerful each day. As days turned to weeks, which turned into a full month, I felt like I was about to puke. The night before the day I would be leaving was filled with sad looks and goodbye presents. It didn't help much with my stomach, but, I felt happy nonetheless.

Private handed me a bright blue box, with a red bow on it.

"It's from the four of us," he chocked out. I could tell he was about to cry, and, I hoped he didn't, because, at the moment, I was trying my hardest not to burst into tears. I gave Private a smile, then, looked up at the rest of them. I took the present with such gentleness, that, it might seem like I was picking up an egg.

I opened it slowly, taking off the bow instead of ripping it; I wanted to save it, it was a pretty bow. I ripped off the wrapping paper and then opened the box to reveal what was inside. I gasp slightly. Inside was a picture in a frame of all of us penguins.

"H-How did you get this?" I asked, amazed.

"Oh, that? We took one of the tourists camera's and printed the picture out that he took of us," Skipper explained, like it was nothing. But, it wasn't nothing. It was a reminder what had happened these past months. It was the exact opposite of nothing. It was...it was...was there even a word to describe how amazing, and awesome, and perfect this picture was; even with the figure of the man's in the corner.

Private sniffled a cry.

"Oh! And, I promised my self I wouldn't cry!" Private said, wiping his eyes to his flippers. I took out the picture frame and realized that something was under it. I gently placed the picture to the ground, not wanting it to break when I picked up what was under it. I picked up a book. It was one of those baby books, about a few words per page. But, I started crying anyway. It was such a great gift; almost topping the picture.

"Thank you," I was finally able to say after a few moments of sniffles.

–

I set my box, with both contents inside, on the table, ready for me to pick it up in the morning. I would have to get up early to catch my ship, which, I wasn't really that happy about, but, it was worth it to be going home.

"I'm going home," I murmured. The words felt sour on my tongue. It made me thirsty. So, before I climbed into bed like the rest of the penguins, I went to the sink and put my flippers out to form a cup and drank out of my hands. After I was done, I quickly rubbed my hands and face on to a towel and turned around to see Kowalski right behind me. I blushed.

"Here," he muttered, handing me small, black balls. I took them, but, gave him a confused looked. They had already given me a gift, two great gifts at that, why would Kowalski give me one another present? Seeing my confused looked, he explained.

"Those are smoke bombs, they might help you out in Antarctica. In case a leopard seal tries to mess with you again, you can get out of there nice and fast," he whispered. Leopard seals. I've almost forgotten all about them. They just...didn't seem that important anymore. I felt I was about to cry again and held it it. I didn't want to cry in front of Kowalski again, he might think I don't like the gift.

"Thank you," I said, smiling. I quickly put them in my box as well and then closed it. I turned around just as Kowalski was walking over to where the others were already asleep. I quickly went up to him and gave Kowalski a hug from behind. I muttered, thank you, again and let go. I almost ran over to my bed and didn't look back. If I had, I would have seen Kowalski blush a dark shade of scarlet; almost as bright as my face.

–

The morning of was filled with just as much sad faces and presents. Mason and Phil gave a basket of fruit and a jar of bugs. Marlene had given me a stuffed otter to remember her by; though, she warned me to be very gentle with it, since, they brake easily. King Julian offered to give me Mort, but, I refused, stating that he wouldn't last very long it cold weather and was probably needed here more.

"We'll miss you, Piper," Marlene said, giving me one last goodbye hug. Phil did some hand signs and Mason nodded.

"Yes, we all will miss you very much," Mason said. "You were a good student and I just wish we could continue. I am sorry that we were sometimes interrupted though, because _someone _kept insisting on a dance party." Either Julian didn't notice Mason glare, or, he just ignored it, because his expression, which was smiling like an idiot, didn't change.

I gave my final hugs to them as well.

"Yes, yes. Can we get done with this already? This is cutting into my kingly beauty sleep," Julian said, looking down at his nails, unamused. I snickered and gave him a hug as well. He quickly dusted him self off after the hug. I gave Mort and Maurice their hugs as well.

Lastly were the penguins. I walked up to Private, giving him a good embrace. He sniffled; was defiantly about to cry.

"Don't cry Private! We'll see each other again!" I said, but, not only for Private's sake, but, for mine as well. I didn't want to think I wouldn't be able to see of them again. Private only nodded and gave a shy smile. Next I gave Rico a hug, who, broke into tears. I patted his back before moving on to Kowalski. It was a very awkward hug, but, it still made my heart beat like crazy. The thought of never seeing anyone again crossed my mind.

"Goodbye," he said. I only nodded, my face hot, and my eyes about to be wet. Finally, I gave my last hug to Skipper.

"Stay strong, Soldier," Skipper said with a smile. He patted my shoulder. I smiled in return, thankful for the comfort. The penguins helped me load up the rest of my things into a crate in the back of the ship, where I got a window view. I gave my final goodbyes and waved at them through the window. I gave my last glance out the window until I couldn't see them anymore, then, I went into my crate and cried my self back to sleep.

–

I hate boats. No, really. I really, _really _hate boats. I will always and forever hate them because they always seem to be taking me where I'm not suppose to go. Plus, they always take forever to get anywhere. I've already been on this boat for a few days and I still wasn't back home.

As days went by, the worst yet was my fourth day. A storm came in. The crew was as about as surprised of this as I was. Never in my life had I wanted to relive another thunder storm. Yet, here I was, griping on to the nearest thing in front of me, which was the otter plushy. As another strike of lightning flashed in the dark, scary sky, thunder bombed in the background.

I whimpered again as I heard the frightening noise. Though, this time I knew no one would save me. I was all alone. Alone. I finally realized the quiet, stuffy sound of being alone.

"Why couldn't this damn storm wait until I was in Antarctica?!" I yelled, though, even if there was someone with me, I knew they wouldn't been able to hear me. The sounds of rain was too strong outside. I miss everyone, I thought, realizing for my self that I wasn't going back to them, but, back to Edric and Jill. Opal and father. Mother and Jock. Henry and Nesk. But, which everyone did I mean. I didn't know, which, only made my head hurt more.

The dread in my stomach was more of a depression now. It makes me feel like hiding under my covers and just crying. But, that wouldn't do me any good now, would it? No, I didn't think so. Another _boom_ and another squeezing of the stuffed otter. I finally decided that the best way for me to get this off my mind was to try and read. I pulled out my book that I got from the penguins.

I shivered again as another explosion was heard outside. As I tried to read the words, my thoughts drifted. I thought about my past few months, the months before that, and even years before that. Then, I thought about my future. What would everyone say when they saw me? Probably think I'd risen from the dead. I chuckled at this thought.

Another explosion and my thoughts switch to Kowalski. I don't know why, though, probably because he comforted me while I was scared. Then, I started to think about all the times I've had with Kowalski, then Private, then Skipper and Rico and Marlene and the rest of the gang at the zoo. I found my self thinking of each of them throughout my vogue to Antarctica.

While thinking, I finally realized the question I've been meaning to answer and I finally think I'm ready to hear it. Why didn't I just stay at the zoo? I thought for the answer for a few minutes and couldn't come up with a good enough one. Because I needed to go back home, they need me there, was the only answer that would fit. But, even that felt like a lie.

–

YAY! DONE! 8D Next chapter should be soon! ^^ Hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Oh, and, if it's weird again, it's because I'm half awake again and I've been living off of tea and cheese pretzels until I got this finished. xD Please review!


	6. Making A Decision

Homesick

Fandom: Penguins of Madagascar

Rating: T

Genre: Romance/Adventure/Slight Drama

Pairing(s): Kowalski/OC

Full Summary: After being taken from her home in Antarctica, Piper ends up in the Central Park Zoo. Despite her protests, she is stuck there for a couple of months. Will she be able to stay faithful to the idea of going back, or will she become attached to the Penguins? She questions if home a few months ago, still feels like home now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Penguins of Madagascar, or any of the characters. I do, however, own my characters. :)

Comment: Not much longer until this story finishes! 8D Yay! Anyway, hope you enjoy...to those who are reading and just aren't reviewing. D:

–

Since the ship wasn't going straight to Antarctica, it took longer then last time. After two weeks and a couple of days, and with almost being caught, the ship finally came to a complete stop. I looked out of the window and saw ice everywhere. I was back.

I quickly went up to the where the captain was, wanting to make sure I was _actually _back; I didn't want to jump off and realize I was in the north pole or something. As I came up to the door, I pressed my head to it to hear what they were saying.

"--finally here men!" The captain yelled. I heard clanking of glasses.

"I'm just glad we got here," one of them said.

"I know! I thought we'd never get here on time because of that storm!" another said. Just as another said something, I heard someone walking down the hallway, then, turning the corner. I froze for a second, afraid of being caught. Finally, realizing that staying completely still wasn't going to help, I dove behind some crates.

The man knocked on the captain's door.

"Sir!" the crew member yelled. The captain appeared at the door; I thought it was the captain anyway. He had a white beard and a nice uniform on.

"Is this important Robert? We're having a party here!" he glared at the man. I guess the party was only for important folks, because, as I peaked into the room, a couple men stood, waiting for the captain to return, and each had a nice suit on.

As the captain and Robert were distracted, I slide through the crack in the door and hid behind an aqua table with drinks on it. As the men talked, I sneaked my way to the other side of the room, where, a map of the world hung. I used my flipper to follow the path we took and I stopped on the continent at the bottom. I've never seen a world map before, so, I had to sound out the word. An-tarc-ti-ca. Antarctica. I was home!

I quickly jumped back down before someone saw me and sneaked out of the room, just barely sliding through before the captain closed the door. I quickly went back to room and packed my things. I could hardly control my excitement while packing. I was finally home!

Since I felt I couldn't carry the basket full of fruit, the jar of bugs, the otter doll, and my box with my picture and my book, I quickly searched for a box to put them all in. I found a small crate and quickly put my things in them. This was going to take some time to carry, I thought tiredly.

–

After getting off that awful ship; one crew member I had to knock out because he saw me, I learned the move from Skipper; I pushed the crate over to the preserve, which, was only half a mile from where the ship was.

"Piper!...That is you, isn't it, Piper?" I heard someone call. I turned to see Nessy, looking through the fence. She smiled when she saw me look at her.

"I knew it was you! Where have you been, lately? It's been months! It was some winter though, wasn't it, Piper?" Nessy asked. I smiled and decided to tell her my tail. I pushed the heavy crate next to the fence and started. Throughout this, Nessy kept nodding, half the time listening, half the time just staring up into the sky. When I was done, she started to laugh.

"So, that's where all those penguins go! Sorry, I didn't mean for you to get sent away from your home, I just thought-"

"No, it's okay. I got to meet some amazing animals there," I interrupted with a smile.

"I can tell! Wha'cha got in there anyway?" Nessy whistled, looking at the crate. I showed her what was inside and even read to her a bit, since, she wanted to hear. She whistled again.

"I never thought I'd meet an animal that could read! That's a mighty fine talent you got there, Piper," Nessy said. I smiled brightly. I looked at the sky and realized that the sun should be setting soon and I didn't want to walk in the dark, pushing this heavy crate.

"I'd better get going, Nessy." I waved to her goodbye. "Bye!"

"See ya. You better come and visit more often now that you're in the area, ya hear!" Nessy waved back.

–

When it got dark, I found a cave and stayed in there for the night. Just like the night before, it was hard to sleep without my bed. I've gotten too used to the thing. Right before I feel into a deep sleep, my stomach grumbled and woke me up. I signed, annoyed.

I hadn't eaten anything that day; on the boat, I, at first, ate some of the fruit Mason and Phil gave me, but, it turned out to be gross. So, I started to steal fish from the kitchen area. Though, I was too busy and excited this morning to grab anything before I left. I sighed again, knowing it would be even harder to go to bed without food in my stomach.

That morning, having got up right when I could see outside again, I got ready to move again. I was determined to get back to the colony today. I wasn't sure how long it took me last time to get from the colony to the preserve, but, I knew it was going to take three times that since I now had to push the crate and I couldn't go through water because of it.

As the sun started to set again, I smelt something that made my stomach turn; luckily, I haven't had anything to eat to barf up. As I got closer, I saw what it was. It was the old, rotting whale caucus that the leopard seal had been eating months ago. And, it was still here. Ew. Parts of it were frozen from the cold winter and other parts were red and puffy, rotting away. Again, _ew. _

I pushed the crate slowly around it, trying my hardest to hold my breath, not wanting to breath in the stench. When I finally got around the thing, I froze. My eyes grew wide. There, eating the months old whale, was five leopard seals, ripping off pieces of the flesh and swallowing it down. None of them noticed me, yet, and I planned on keeping it that way. But, what was I suppose to do? I couldn't just keep pushing my crate along...could I?

Well, there was no where to hide and I wouldn't ever leave this stuff behind, so, what else could I do. I started pushing the crate again, looking over my shoulder to see if the leopard seals ever stopped eating. Finally, assured that they wouldn't stop eating the smelly whale, I pushed harder and faster, wanting to get to the colony and be far away from these leopard seals.

I turned to look over my shoulder one more time, and saw that the leopard seals had stopped eating and were now looking straight at me. I stood, frozen at that spot. I remembered back a couple of months ago, when I had to run for my life, just to get away from one leopard seal. I knew I couldn't outrun _five. _All of them started moving towards me at rapid speeds, surrounding me and the crate.

I was still frozen as one approached me, teeth bared. It licked it's lips and went for my flipper. I quickly awoke from my trance and just barely dodged it. Then, I kicked it in the face, knocking it out. I smiled. All that training with Skipper really had payed off. As the other four attacked, I attacked back at full force. Finally, only one stood. He growled, staring at me with hungry eyes. Back a few months ago, that would have scared me to death. But, now, I was ready to fight back.

As it aimed to bit me in the neck, I quickly chopped it's back, knocking it unconscious. I dragged the bodies over to the water and kept them there. I didn't want to kill them, even if it's intentions on me were different. I started pushing the crate along again, hoping to make it back to the colony before nightfall.

–

I wasn't sure what I expected when I walked into the colony. But, it sure wasn't everyone stopping what they were doing and staring at me.

"Piper?" I heard someone yell. I looked around but, all I saw were unknown penguins. Then, I was jumped from behind with a big hug. I looked back and saw Opal.

"Piper! It is you!" she yelled. Then, she started to cry. She hit me in the head and hugged me again.

"Where have you been?! I've been worried sick! I thought you were dead!" she yelled again. She started sobbing. I hugged her back and when she let go, I looked behind her. There was a male penguin, just staring at me with a confused look on his face. Opal saw me looking at the penguin and gave a shy smile. She wiped her eyes before she spoke.

"Piper, this is Roti." Opal blushed. Roti went to Opal's side and gave me a friendly smile.

"Roti, this is my sister, Piper." Opal started to cry again. I went up and hugged her.

"It's okay, Opal. I'm here now," I said, trying to calm her down.

"Piper!" I heard someone hollered. I knew that today would be filled with yelling my name. I turned to see my mother and father coming up behind us.

"Mom! Dad!" I yelled, hugging them both. As mother burst into tears and father tried his best to calm her down, Opal started asking questions.

"Where the hell have you been?! We've been worried sick!" Opal yelled, more angry this time. I was about to speak, but, father beat me to it.

"Opal, that's enough. Piper, sweetie, you must be tired. Let's go somewhere more comfortable," he said, leading us away from the other penguins, that, kept on staring.

"I'll meet you guys in a second," Opal said, wandering off with Roti. After we were a couple yards away from the other penguins, we all sat down. Mother was finally able to talk again. As she started asking questions, she was about as angry as Opal was.

"Young lady, where have you been? Don't you understand that we've been looking all over for you?" she asked, frowning. Though, she looked like she was about to cry again. I explained to them both, about being attacked by the leopard seal, trying to get it away from the chicks, and ending up in the preserve. About how the preserve sent me to the New York zoo and how I met some very interesting and awesome animals. I left out though about being attacked by the leopard seals on the way here.

While I was explaining this, my father was nodding, taking in everything I said, and mother was giving me mixed expressions of worry, excitement, and anger. When I was finished, my mother's mouth was hanging open.

"Oh my! That must have been quite an adventure!" she exclaimed, smiling at me. I wasn't sure to take that in a good way, or, that she didn't believe me way. Either way, I smiled back. Just then, Opal walk in next to us with Roti and a chick at her side. It was little and fuzzy; very cute. Opal smiled at me.

"Piper, meet Giselle. Giselle, meet your auntie Piper," Opal smiled, picking up Giselle and cuddling her in her flippers.

"Auntie?" I asked, then gasped. Opal's smile widened. She handed me Giselle. Giselle giggled as I held her.

"Hello auntie Piper!" Giselle exclaimed with a smiled. I smiled back and gave the little chick a big hug. I had finally realized what Opal and father had been talking about months back. I then told my story again for Opal, Roti, and Giselle, who, enjoyed a good bed time story. That night I slept with my family, all the depression I had a few days ago gone.

–

The next morning I woke up with Giselle pulling on my flipper.

"Wake up auntie Piper! I want you to play with me!" Giselle yelled, pulling on my again.

"Giselle! Leave your aunt alone, if she wants to sleep, let her sleep," Opal shooed, grabbing her. Giselle had a fit.

"Nooo! I want Auntie to play with me!" Giselle yelled. That reminded me. Where was Edric and the rest of the chicks? I asked Opal this and she only shrugged. Though, she said that they were worried about me when I didn't come back after saving them.

"Can I take Giselle with me to the hills to play?" I asked Opal.

"If you want. But, if she starts acting up, send her back to me," Opal said, putting Giselle down and pushing her to me. Giselle was still mad at her mother in denying her request in the first place, but, gave her a kiss goodbye and walked with me to the hills.

"Auntie, mommy told me you like racing down hills. Are you good at it?" Giselle asked. I smiled.

"Yep," I said proudly. Giselle smiled at this.

"Could you teach me someday? I really wanna win, but, I'm always last," Giselle said, sadly.

"Of course! And, since you're my niece, I'll show you all my secret moves," I said. It perked her up. As we at last came to the hills, a few chicks and young penguins were sliding down them. Some of the chicks came racing up to us, greeting Giselle.

"Who's this, Giselle?" one asked.

"This is my Auntie Piper!" Giselle said proudly.

"You have an aunt? I thought she was dead?" another asked.

"I thought she was, but, we found out last night that she wasn't," Giselle said, shrugging. Each of the chicks greeted me.

"Piper?" a young penguin asked, sliding up to us. Behind him was four more young penguins. My eyes grew a bit when I looked at the young penguin. It had just dawned on me that I've been gone for months and the chicks I knew back then would have grown up into penguins.

"Edric?" I asked. Edric smiled.

"Piper, it is you!" Edric was much taller now. He was probably the tallest out of all the young penguins there. He was also well built. Behind him were Jill, Jock, Henry, and Nesk. Jill was a very lean, very tall penguin, only a little shorter then Edric. Jock was short, but, lean. He still looked like a chick in the face though. Henry was a bit on the chubby side, but, that made him look well built. Nesk was probably the most lean, as tall as Jill.

"Piper!" Jill screamed, bending down to hug me.

"You all look so different!" I said, hugging each of them.

"Well, thats what happens when you're gone for six months," Henry grumbled. So much had happened while I was away. I missed my sister getting her self a lover and having Giselle. Now, I missed the chicks growing up. I had to retell my story for about the fourth time that day to them.

They all, even Nesk, seemed to be thankful what I had done six months ago and were glad I wasn't eaten. Also, they wanted me to teach them a few moves. I laughed at this, agreeing.

–

For my first week back, I taught Edric, Jill, Jock, Nesk, and Henry how to fight and taught Giselle a few moves sliding down hills; one, which, involved sliding off of a rock, though, I warned her to keep her eyes on where she was landing.

I had also showed them my new ability to read and showed them the things the animals at the zoo had given me. Them seemed to most interested in the otter doll, asking if animals actually looked like this. As I was setting up my stuff in my resting area, Opal came up behind me, alone today. She saw me staring at the picture.

"You miss them, don't you?" she asked, sitting next to me. Her voice spooked me, making me jump. I settled back down and nodded slowly.

"Yeah...I guess I do."

"You know, Piper, you never told me about your relationship with these penguins separately. Tell me about them," Opal insisted. I really didn't want to explain them, because, it would just make me miss them more.

"Well...Skipper," I pointed to him in the picture. "He's the leader. He's pretty strict, but, he's a good person. He taught me a lot. Rico," I pointed to his picture next. "He's wild." I laughed at the thought. "He regurgitates all the weapons we need. Private," I pointed to him. "He's a really good friend. He was the youngest out of them all. Kowalski," I pointed to his picture and blushed, my heart beating. "He's really smart. And, he's very kind." I'm pretty sure Opal saw the look on my face.

"Oh, I see. You have a thing for Kowalski, huh?" She said with a giggle. That made me blush more.

"N-No!" I said, hugging my picture. This made Opal giggle more.

"Sure," she said, rolling her eyes with a smile. I nudged her with a smile, trying to make her stop. She bumped me back and then we started laughing together. After we finally stopped, there was silence.

"If you miss them so much, you should go back," Opal said with a soft smile. I shook my head.

"I couldn't do that, you guys need me. And, this is my home."

"Piper, we all know you want to go back. It's just the look on your face, you're just so much happier now, yet, you still seem sad. You've learned so much there and we can tell you had a good time. We trust that they will make you happy, and, I think, you should go back to them," Opal said. I looked down, not sure what to say.

"It's your decision," Opal said, getting up with shrug. "I won't make you choice. But, when you do decide, tell me and I'll help you with whatever you need." Then, she left with a wink. I sat there alone, wondering what I should do.

That night I lay awake, thinking about this. For some reason, this didn't feel like home now. I was homesick once again. Before I drifted off completely, I had finally made my decision. I would be going back to the zoo.

–

DONE~ And, only a day after I completed the last chapter. xD Review please!


	7. Planning

Homesick

Fandom: Penguins of Madagascar

Rating: T

Genre: Romance/Adventure/Slight Drama

Pairing(s): Kowalski/OC

Full Summary: After being taken from her home in Antarctica, Piper ends up in the Central Park Zoo. Despite her protests, she is stuck there for a couple of months. Will she be able to stay faithful to the idea of going back, or will she become attached to the Penguins? She questions if home a few months ago, still feels like home now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Penguins of Madagascar, or any of the characters. I do, however, own my characters. :)

Comment: Chapter Seven!~ 8D Well...nothin' really to say here... .

–

When I told my parents about my plans, my mother burst into tears.

"P-P-Piper! H-H-How could y-y-you do th-h-his to your m-m-mother?!" she asked though breaths of air. I looked down, feeling guilty. But, luckily, father spoke up for me.

"Sweetie," he said calmly, pulling her into his arms and stroking her feathers on her head. "Piper is a grown penguin. She has the right to live wherever she wants. Plus, she has learned so much up there, I'm sure she wants to learn more." I nodded at this, giving my mom a please-let-me-go smile. She just gave me a glare in return.

Then he whispered her something, which, made her face brighten up.

"Well...if you put it that way," she said with a smirk. I was afraid of what he had told her. I gave my father a look of uncertainty, but, he just ignored me. Opal smiled when I told her, Roti, and Giselle, knowing what she said yesterday had pulled off. Giselle was about as happy with this as mother was when I first told her.

"B-But, I don't want Auntie to leave!" She burst into tears. After a few minutes, Roti and Opal were finally able to calm her down. I walked over to her and took her flippers. She looked up at me, but, then back at the ground; though, I knew she was listening.

"Don't worry, Giselle. I won't be gone forever, Auntie will come to visit you. And, if you ever need me, I'll be here as fast as I can." I didn't want to tell her how fast I would be able to make it, because, I didn't even know. Giselle looked back up at me, her eyes filled with water. But, she held it in and gave me a hug. I smiled and hugged her back, then kissed her on the head.

When I told the young penguins, Jill looked like she was about to cry, but, she didn't.

"What?!" Henry yelled. "You're kidding, right?" He was furious, giving such a glare that is sorta scared me. I was actually surprised by this; I never thought Henry would even care. After a few moments, Jill was finally able to settle him down; it's strange how close those two have become. Finally, after he cleared his throat, he spoke again.

"I mean...You've only been here a week, and, you already want to go back?" he grumbled, still looking pissed.

"Yeah, why do you want to leave?" Jock asked, giving pleading eyes not to go. Jill nodded with Jock. Nesk stayed as quiet as he's been since I've gotten here, just looking at the ground. I stayed quiet, trying to come up with a reasonable answer to give them; I expected Edric to agree with them any minute now.

"Hey! You guys should know better then that!" Edric yelled back at them, which, made everyone jump; he wasn't one to yell these days. "If Piper wants to go back, then, we'll gonna help her. You got that?" I was surprised to see Edric taking charge and even more surprised to see everyone following his order. Jock, Jill, and Nesk nodded; though, Jock and Jill still looked sad. Henry just huffed.

"You can't tell me what to do fish breath!" Henry stomped up to Edric. Edric gave him a glare.

"Why can't you just listen, Henry?" Edric hollered back. Henry glared back. Jill quickly put her flipper on Henry's shoulder, but, Henry just knocked it off.

"Because you aren't the boss of me! The only reason the rest of them are listening to you is because when she--" he pointed to me. "--left, Nesk was feeling too guilty to take charge! Now that she's back, I think Nesk should be the leader again!" I was just about to step in when Jill did it for me.

"Henry! Stop it right now!" Jill yelled, trying to push him away from Edric. Henry ignored her, then, giving one last glare to Edric, slide off. Jill looked at Edric, who nodded. Then, Jill went after him.

–

With Edric, Nesk, and Jock by my side, it only took us a few hours to get to the preserve. Edric had insisted on coming along, Nesk and Jock came with him. We waited for Jill to come back with Henry, but, Edric said it was a lost cause, so, we went without them.

As I knocked out some of people that were in the control room, the young penguins were looking around the room.

"What does this do, Piper?" Jock asked, pointing to a big, red button. I quickly pushed him away from it, reading that is said 'Self Destruct' in bold red letters.

"Don't touch anything," I warned. I hopped on to the computer chair and stared at the computer in front of me. I looked at the screen, wondering what I should do. I _was_ going to check when the next ship to New York from here, but, I barely even knew how to read, and Mason and Phil only briefly went over writing. I clicked around for awhile until I came to the schedules.

I scrolled down through it for about 20 minutes, searching for a ship that would come here to pick up animals and then send them off to the Central Park Zoo. After an hour, I had found absolutely _nothing. _

"Found anything, Piper?" Edric asked, climbing on to the chair with me.

"No," I mumbled, saddened by this. Edric looked at the screen, got a confused look on his face, and then turned back at me.

"Well, if there isn't any ships coming here and then back to the zoo, just change the schedule," Edric said with a shrug. I almost rolled my eyes. I couldn't just change the schedule...Could I? That was actually a brilliant idea!

"Great idea!" I said, giving Edric a quick hug, then went back to the computer. The only problem was when I went to change the schedule, I had to put in a password. I tried a couple the penguins did to get into the computer at the office at the zoo, but, none of them worked. I banged my head on the keyboard and was surprised to hear a _ding _sound. I looked up to see I was in. I cheered silently in my head.

I looked up to see when the next ship was coming here and found that the ship that dropped off supplies was going to be here in a week. Then, after that, the ship was going to go to Florida to reload. I changed Florida with New York. I smiled after I was done, and jumped down.

"You done, yet?" Nesk asked, which, surprised me, because I hadn't heard him speak in the week I was here. I nodded. They quickly helped me put the bodies of the unconscious humans back on to their seats and we all left. After that, I gave them a brief introduction to Nessy, who, was happy to see me.

"So, these are the chicks you saved," Nessy said with a smile. All three of them blushed. Once we started heading back again, I started thinking of how long until I was off to New York again. A week. I groaned in my head. Great, _another _time wait.

–

When we got back, we found Henry and Jill watching some chicks race down the hill. Just watching them race reminded me of last day I went racing down that hill with them when they were chicks, before the whole incident happened. It made me sad that I missed them growing up, though, I was happy that they still liked to race; racing was usually for chicks.

Henry huffed and glared at Edric as we got closer, but, said nothing. He also didn't move. Jill smiled weakly.

"So, how did it go?" Jill asked.

"Piper's leaving in a week," Jock said, sadly. Jill gave a shocked look.

"Only a week? I thought you wouldn't be leaving so soon!" Jill looked like she was about to cry again, but, Henry hugged her. After he was done, Jill nodded over at Edric. Henry sighed and rolled his eyes, but walked over to Edric.

"Sorry about...well...I don't know, just sorry," Henry said in a rush.

"Henry!" Jill gave him a glare. Henry sighed again.

"Fine! Sorry about...you know...today." Jill gave him another glare. "That's as much as you're gonna make me say!" Henry crossed his flippers, refusing to apologizing anymore. Jill rolled her eyes and walked up to Edric.

"Sorry, Edric. Henry is just so stubborn," Jill said with a sigh. Then, Jill and Henry walked off on their own. Edric and Jock said their goodbyes as well, since, it was getting late. I was just about to leave to, when, Nesk stopped me.

"You wanna know why Henry was so mad when he found out why you were leaving?" he asked.

"Huh?" I asked. I did think it was strange when Henry got furious when I told everyone, but, I really didn't think twice about it.

"Well, when you didn't come back after you distracted the leopard seal, Edric freaked. I felt extremely guilty with tricking Edric and getting you attacked." Nesk paused. Then, went on. "So, I refused to lead the group anymore and Edric took this chance and became the new leader. We all went looking for you for a month. When you came back, Henry was extremely grateful for what you did for us, that's why he's so upset that you're leaving." I was a bit surprised that Henry was grateful, but, felt bad for leaving again.

After I was done talking to Nesk, I went back with where my family was. I told them about what happened today, telling them that I would be leaving a week and such. Mother was still not happy that I was leaving here, but, didn't say anything. I wondered what father had told her to stop crying.

As I was eating some fish, Giselle came up to me.

"Auntie, look what I got you!" Giselle set a rock in my lap.

"Oh...it's lovely, Giselle," I said, picking up the rock and examining it.

"That's my good luck rock. I found it next to our hill the day you came home," Giselle said with a smile. I gave her a huge, tearful smile back.

"Thank you so much, Giselle." I gave her a big hug and then gave her the rest of my fish. Once Giselle was eating it, I started thinking of a goodbye present to give to her as well.

–

In the next week, I taught Giselle how sound out her vowels and a new move on the slopes. I also raced down them with the young penguins, and I also taught them a few new moves. The morning I was leaving, I got extra early, excited; though, the ship wasn't even suppose to arrive until noon, and, it wouldn't depart until the evening. I packed my stuff in the crate, but, took out the stuffed otter doll and placed it to the side.

Edric and the others said they would help me take my stuff there, since, it would take less time. As the hours ticked by, my family came over to say their goodbyes. I hugged my dad, almost in tears. He patted my back.

"I know you'll be happy there, sweetie," he told me. I then gave mother her hug. She burst into tears, which, made me start crying.

"S-S-Sweet heart, t-t-take care of your s-s-self, o-o-okay?" she asked through breaths. I nodded, smiling. After a few seconds, we both calmed down. And, before I could move on to the next person, mother whispered.

"I hope I get to meet your new partner, one of these days," she whispered with a smile. I cocked my head to the side, confused for a second. Then realized that's what dad must have told her to calm her down when she first found out. I laughed in my head, knowing mother must be happy that I finally found _someone_; even if that someone didn't even know. I gave her one last hug before moving on to Opal.

"I know you'll do great up there," she said, chocking back tears. It was hard not to cry. Next I gave a quick hug to Roti. I didn't know him that well, but, I did know that he made my sister happy, which, was good enough for me to like him. Though, I warn him if he ever hurt her, then, I would chop him in half.

After Roti, I gave Giselle a long, censer hug.

"I'll miss you, Auntie." Giselle, surprisingly, didn't cry. Though, when I looked at her face, it looked so sad that it made me start crying again. After calming down a bit, I handed her the otter plushy.

"This is for you, Giselle," I said with a smile. Giselle gasped and grabbed it from my flippers. She started hugging it right away.

"Really, Auntie?!" she asked, amazed that I was giving her this. I knew Marlene wouldn't mind me giving it away to my niece, especially since Giselle was so fascinated by it.

"Of course! Now, you have to promise to think of me every time you hold it, deal?"

"Deal!" Giselle gave me one final hug before I headed off with Edric and the other young penguins.

–

As they all helped me push the crate past the still roting whale, I saw _another _leopard seal. But, instead of trying to attack us when it saw us, it slide back into the water, scared. No one else saw this, except for me, so, I just ignored it; though, I warned them on their way back to the colony to be extra careful.

When we were almost there, Jill tripped over a rock, falling forward, pushing the crate forward in the process, too. It quickly slid over to the water and would have fallen in if it wasn't for Jock, who, quickly went in front of the box and pushed it over just in time. All the contents spilled out, but, at least they weren't in the water.

"Sorry," Jock said, breathing hard from slide so fast. I quickly picked up the picture and brushed the snow off. My eyes found Kowalski first. I blushed.

"Hey, what's this?" Henry asked. I turned around to see him have a small, black ball between his flippers. Before I could do anything, Henry smashed it between is flippers, black smoke going all over his face. He started coughing; everyone else was laughing.

"Be careful with that!" I quickly gathered up all the smoke bombs Kowalski made me. Even if I hadn't used them, I still really liked them; Kowalski gave them to me personally.

"Sorry," Henry coughed. After we got everything packed securely, we started moving again. We got to where the ship was around four; they were now loading things into the ship. I gave my final goodbyes to them and boarded the ship. I found a similar area to stay like my last one. I waved at the others through the window. I sighed peacefully as the ship started moving.

Sometime, throughout the rocking of the boat, I must have drift off to sleep, because I don't remember a thing after I waved them goodbye.

–

Surprisingly, the trip there only lasted a few days, but, it seemed my longest trip in a ship _ever. _Luckily, this time there wasn't any thunder storms and I got through the trip almost perfectly. I say almost because, I'm sure if it's sea sickness or my nervous acting up, but, I felt sick throughout my trip. My thoughts kept drifting to what would everyone do when I got back.

Finally, the ship came to a complete stop; I almost jumped into the air with excitement. I raced to the window and saw giant buildings everywhere; yep, this was the place. I quickly grabbed my things, which, now only consisted up my book, the picture, and the smoke bombs. As I walked past some crew members, I heard them muttering to each other.

"What was the point in coming to New York?" one asked. The other shrugged.

"The captain says that someone hacked the system in Antarctica."

"Why would _anyone _do that? Plus, who would? There are only so many people in Antarctica!" Both nodded, agreeing. Good, I thought. They never suspected a homesick penguin. I got off the ship in no time and quickly made my way to the zoo.

After a thirty minute walk, I was at the entrance. The zoo was already open; children and their parents were walking in and out, the ones coming out had souvenirs in their hands. I looked up at the sign and read it to my self. Central Park Zoo. I smiled to my self and took a deep breath, then, walked in. I was home!

–

So, what did you think? :3 Sorry if it was boring, I'm just so tired right now, and I'm being bothered by my brother and his friend. D: Anyway, the next chapter is the final! Until then, bye! Review please!


	8. Home At Last

Homesick

Fandom: Penguins of Madagascar

Rating: T

Genre: Romance/Adventure/Slight Drama

Pairing(s): Kowalski/OC

Full Summary: After being taken from her home in Antarctica, Piper ends up in the Central Park Zoo. Despite her protests, she is stuck there for a couple of months. Will she be able to stay faithful to the idea of going back, or will she become attached to the Penguins? She questions if home a few months ago, still feels like home now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Penguins of Madagascar, or any of the characters. I do, however, own my characters. :)

Comment: Whoo! Last chapter!~ I gotta say, I'm gonna miss writing this. D: Despite no one _ever _reviewing, it was still fun to write. :3 Anyway, enjoy the last chapter and the many stories that will be coming after it. :D

–

The first time I came into the Central Park Zoo, I was carried inside in a cage. I felt many different emotions then; fright, anger, sadness. I remember feeling anger towards Bobby, towards Nessy and Edric for getting me here. I was scared that I would never get home, I remembered that that thought made me sad.

I thought about all this while sliding inside, trying not to be seen. Just a couple of months ago, I would have thought I had gone insane, wanting to stay here and not go back to Antarctica. But, at the moment, all I cared about was getting back to the penguins. Back to Marlene, Mason, and Phil. Back to my friends.

It was hard to slip past people, dive in and out of crowds, and hide under benches with a box in your flippers. Though, at last, I saw the penguins habitat. There was only about two or three people around it, and, neither of them were really looking at the penguins; one was texting, another was looking at some magazine, flipping through the pages, looking extremely bored.

I slide over to the exhibit. When I was close enough, I saw that the penguins were having high-five practice; to this day I still don't understand it. I smiled to my self nonetheless and was about to _carefully _go down there to greet them. But, then, I slipped on some water at the tip of the habitat and fell forward, box in hand; my feet and water just don't mix.

As I fell to the water below, I kicked the box to the right and, fortunately, it landed on the ice berg. Unfortunately, I landed with a splash into the water; taking my breath with it. As my head bobbed back up to the surface, I saw the penguins look questionably at my box, then at me. I just gave them a big, innocent smile.

"...Piper?" Skipper asked, giving me a _very _strange look. I paddled my way to the ice berg and hoisted my self up. I gave them another smile. Private quickly greeted me with a huge hug.

"Piper, it is you!" Private exclaimed. After Private was done hugging me, I was able to breath again. Everyone looked stunned to see me, especially Kowalski. I looked away, blushing a bit; I wasn't used to them staring at me.

"How did you get here, soldier?" Skipper questioned, flippers to his hips. Just as I was about to explain to them about my journey here, a net went straight over my face. I gasped slightly, then, was turned upside down in the net.

"Gotcha!" Alice said. "I don't know where you ran off to, but, you missed your check up last month." I looked at the penguins, very confused; though, I looked at them upside down, so, I'm not sure if they got what expression I was showing.

"We'll talk to you later!" Kowalski screamed; obviously, they did. I blushed. It was nice to hear Kowalski's voice again. I blushed deeper at the thought. I waved at them slightly, a bit afraid at where I was going; though, I trusted that if I was in any danger, the penguins would have helped me. Though, Skipper's look was very, _very _grave.

Private must have seen my concerned look on Skipper's face, because he elbowed the leader and then muttered something to him. Skipper rolled his eyes and gave me a salute. Oh, that made me feel _so _much better about where I was going.

–

The vet's office was almost completely white, except for some trinkets he had and other things. It had cages stacked in a pile in the right corner and file cabinets across from them. In the room next to the one I was in, that was where the vet did check ups, shots, and other things that supposedly _help _animals.

The check up was actually more then _just _a check up, it actually involved two shots; one in my butt and the other in my leg. _Not. Fun. _I rubbed my butt, knowing I wouldn't be able to sit right for a week. And, including the check up and shots, they also stuck something up my butt. The vet was lucky someone was holding me down, or, I would have punched him in the nose, right then and there.

I cursed the vet silently while attempting to sit down in the cage they put me in. They were going to keep me over night, mostly because they wanted to see if I had gotten any type of disease when I disappeared. I sighed sadly, knowing I would have to talk to the penguins tomorrow. My first day back, and, I'm kept in the vet's office. Joy.

Just as I was about to get settle in for the night, a knock came at the window. I sat up quickly, but, seeing nothing, lied back down. Just as I closed my eyes, I heard another knock. This time I stared at the window until I saw a rock hit the window again with a _thud. _I looked around the office, seeing no one, unhatched the latch that was keeping me in this stupid cage and jumped down from the table. I quickly hopped back up to the window and opened it.

I stuck my head out the window, then, looked down. There, on the concert, was Rico, Kowalski, Skipper, and Private.

"Good! So this is where they put you." Then, Skipper waved me away from the window. I did as I was told. In a matter of seconds, Private jumped in through the open window. Then, Kowalski and Skipper. And, lastly, Rico. After everyone was in the room, Skipper suggested that we should get comfortable, since, my tale would be long. I agreed, knowing it really would be a long story.

After we dug around for awhile, Private found some bubble wrap and everyone sat on that. And, so, I told them my story, explaining everything that had happened. As I was telling them about my fight against five leopard seals, I felt proud. Not even a year ago, I would have probably been eaten if that had happened.

I blushed slightly while telling them my sister had convinced me to come back, feeling that they would think I only came because of my sister. I also told them about me now being an aunt; I could have sworn I saw Kowalski shift uncomfortably when I said it, but, I could have just imagined it. I told them about how the chicks grew up into young penguins and how I taught them some moves to protect them selves.

After I was done, everyone stayed quiet for awhile.

"So, are you staying on the team for good now?" Private asked. I nodded.

"If you'll except me again, that is," I said, with a shy smile. Skipper smiled and patted my shoulder.

"Of course we'll take you back, soldier. It was getting lonely without you, especially with that empty bed," Skipper said. I grinned big.

"Really?" I asked, as though I couldn't believe it. Skipper nodded.

"Well, we should get going. Come on, men." Private gave me a quick hug before dashing off with the others, jumping out the window. I closed it as soon as they were gone; the wind was blowing inside the room, making me shiver.

I jumped down and then jumped back up on the table, where my open cage lay. I walked inside, closed it, and then lied back down. Sleep didn't come right away; it never did. But, for once, since I got chased by that leopard seal and ended up coming to Central Park Zoo, I felt happy about where I was.

I dreamed of working with the penguins, hanging with Marlene, and learning with the chimps. Though, my favorite part of the dream was with Kowalski. We held flippers and walked down a pink cloud. Everyone from the zoo was there, also including animals from Antarctica. They were clapping, throwing grains of rice. It had to be the stupidest and most unrealistic dream I had _ever _had, but, it still made me smile.

That morning, I thought back to that dream. I had woken up before the humans, and was now watching the sun rise. When I thought of that dream, I snickered, knowing how silly it was. Though, I still felt a bit sad, knowing that the most unrealistic thing about that dream was that me and Kowalski actually getting together. I sighed and cleared my thoughts, watching the sun rise in peace, waiting for Alice to come in and put me back in the penguin habitat.

–

I stood, a staff in hand. I was ready for this. The first time I had to fight with a staff, I went down in seconds. It had been two months since I got back to the zoo and I had been training a lot since then. Just a few days after I got back, I started up my lessons with the chimps again. They were happy to see me back and ready to learn. Marlene was thrilled that I was back, though, I still hadn't told her about me giving away my otter doll to my niece.

Skipper had appointed me medic a couple of days after settling in. I'm still need some pointers though. As I stood ready to fight Skipper, pose not included this time, I felt ready to win. Skipper charged first, aiming his staff at my skull. I blocked it quickly and tried to push his staff away with mine. That failed because he just tore it away and took a blow at my feet. I jumped up just in time to get hit in the head with his staff. I shook my head, trying not to concentrate on my now throbbing headache.

I quickly took aim at his stomach, but, he blocked it like it was nothing. I then tried to hit him in the flipper, but, he just blocked it again. He pressed down on the staff as it was on mine, trying to knock it out of my flippers. I kept my stance though; I wouldn't let go of this staff no matter what.

Skipper finally gave up on that and aimed for my legs again. This time I jumped up and knocked him in the stomach with my staff. Amazed that I had _actually _hit Skipper, I was too distracted to notice him knock me in the stomach and then knock me off my feet...again. After a few moments to get my breath back, Skipper put down his staff and helped me to my feet.

"Good practice today, Soldier," Skipper said, patting my back. I smiled. Even if I hadn't won, I still had moved up in my training. I hoped one day I could be able to beat Skipper; though, that day was probably far, _far _away. I sat back down next to Private to watch the next fight; which was Skipper v. Kowalski. Once everyone was done fighting, Skipper said we could have the day off again. I knew where I was going; straight to Marlene's.

I watched as Skipper took down Kowalski in a little less time then me. Next up was Private. I blushed slightly when Kowalski sat next to me. Even after the two months I had been here, I still haven't had the courage to tell Kowalski how I felt. I sighed in my head. I probably never would.

–

Movie night. One of my favorite past times in headquarters. Tonight was a personal favorite. Psycho. It was drawing to a near though; the old lady just killed the sheriff. It was late, only me, Private, and Rico were still awake. Though, Rico wasn't even watching the movie anymore, he was talking to his doll again.

Private covered his eyes as the lady run back upstairs, a knife in hand. I watch, intrigued. I always loved this movie, it had so much suspense, and, it was a classic that had a good ending. Private uncovered his eyes when the scene switched back to the dead girl's boyfriend and friend.

"It's not _that _scary, you know, Private," I whispered, not wanting to wake the rest. Private shook his head.

"I don't care, I'm too young to see her stabbing someone," Private defended with a shrug. "Plus, you're the one afraid of thunder," he teased.

"Hey! It sounds like their bombing the zoo, you can't blame me for that," I whispered, acting offended. Private giggled.

"Well, then, how about your fear of not telling Kowalski how you feel?" Private asked, teasing me again. Though, this time I was silent. It had been five months now and, I still hadn't even _attempted _to tell him. I looked down at the ground, ashamed. Private knew he had hit a weak point and came over to hug me.

"Piper, you should at least try to tell Kowalski how you feel," Private mumbled, afraid that Rico might hear. I shook my head.

"I could never do that, Private. I...I just don't have the confidence or the courage to do it." I sighed softly.

"Piper, don't even try to tell me you don't have courage. You're able to sit through this movie without even being a bit scared afterwards."

"Yeah, but, that's only because I've seen this movie a million times and it's one of my favorites." Private paused before talking again; probably thinking of another reason why I should tell Kowalski.

"Well... you faced all those leopard seals by your self."

"Yeah, but, that's easy."

"Easy compared to just telling someone you like them?"

"Yes," I snickered. Private just rolled his eyes.

"I'm serious! You should definably tell him!"

"Shh!" I shushed; I didn't want anyone besides us hearing this conversation. "I'm serious too. There is just no way I'm going to tell him. Plus, he wouldn't like me back." God, this was starting to get sappy. Private crossed his flippers.

"Piper, you gotta tell him! I refuse to see my friend being this lovesick." I blushed.

"I am not lovesick," I protested. Private raised an eyebrow. "Okay, okay. Maybe just a little." Private sighed.

"Please, Piper?" Private pleaded. I hated seeing him like this.

"Fine...I'll think about it, okay?" I sighed. Right then the movie ended. I was bummed, because the ending was my favorite part. Content with my answer, Private and I switched off the TV and went to bed.

As I tried to get some sleep, I thought back to my two weeks in Antarctica. I actually saw Drine again, though, this time he had a pretty girl penguin around his arm. He seemed content and happy. I remembered how much it bugged me. The last thing I heard before falling asleep was Rico muttering something to his doll.

–

A few days after the movie night, during one of the drills, Kowalski twisted his ankle the wrong way. He went down with a thud.

"Piper! Help Kowalski up and treat his foot," Skipper yelled. I nodded and helped him to his feet. I put his flipper over my shoulder and helped him limp to the vet's office. I was a bit nervous, since, I hadn't really treated anything except a couple of blisters and a few cuts and scraps. I was also nervous because I would be alone with Kowalski.

After I helped him up on the table, I went in search of a book about broken legs, and how to tell if it was broken. After several minutes of looking, I found nothing of the sorts. Kowalski cleared his throat before he spoke up.

"Uh...Piper. Do you need any help?" Kowalski asked. I turned to look at him.

"N-No, I'm fine. Plus, you can't walk. I'm just looking for a book to tell me about sprained ankles or if they're broken or not," I explained.

"Oh. Well, my ankle is only sprained. I just need some ice on it and to keep it elevated. Oh, and you should probably should bandage it up, for compression." Well, I felt stupid; I'm suppose to be the medic.

"O-Of course, I knew that." Kowalski snickered at this; I wasn't trying to be funny. I quickly found a bag and put some ice in it from the room next to his office. Nonetheless, I smiled as I handed Kowalski the bag.

"How'd you get so smart, anyway, Kowalski?" I asked; this had to be one of the first times I didn't stutter. Kowalski thought for a minute.

"I'm...not sure. I guess I've always been smart," Kowalski answered, though, he kept on thinking. While Kowalski thought, I started to wrap his ankle up in ace bandage. Once I was done, I cut it off from the rest of the tape and tied it.

"Done," I said. Kowalski shook his head, just now coming out of his trance.

"What was that, Piper?"

"I-I'm done," I said, starting up my stuttering again.

"Oh. Okay." It was silent after that for a few minutes. As I was thinking up other things to talk about, Kowalski spoke up again. "By the way, Piper, why do you still have those smoke bombs I gave you?" I blushed.

"B-Because, I think they're cool, and, you gave them to me," I said. Then, I realized my mistake. "I-I mean, you're a good friend and you probably worked pretty hard on them, right?"

"Oh." Was all he said. This was my chance, I could finally tell him. We're all alone. I'm not sure where I found the courage, but, I took in a deep breath of air and closed my eyes.

"A-Actually, that's a lie. I actually really, really like you Kowalski, more then just a friend." I said this so fast, I wasn't sure he had heard me. The silence that continued told me he probably did. You know how when people get things off their chest they feel relived; yeah, I just felt idiotic after saying that.

I would keep my eyes closed until he spoke; there was no way I was going to look at him when he rejected me. After a few minutes of waiting, I was almost positive that he had left; I wasn't sure how, but, it was always possible. Just as I was about to open them and see if he was still here, I felt something on my beak. I opened my eyes to see Kowalski kissing me. Is it normal to tell you I was about to faint? I closed my eyes again to enjoy the kiss; my face was probably the color of a tomato. Mother would be proud.

When we pulled apart, I had to lean on something, or I would have probably fallen over. It was silent as walked back to the headquarters, I had to help him walk while he carried the ice bag. When we got inside, Skipper greeted us with a smile.

"Good job, Piper. Kowalski looks alright now," he said. I blushed and nodded. Private came over to help me put Kowalski in his bed. I couldn't wait to tell Private about this later. I vaguely remembered that day, about a year ago now, when I was chased by that leopard seal. If I ever got the chance, I wanted to thank that seal for doing that. Because, I got so far because of it.

–

OMG! My first story I actually finished!! 8D YAY! I'm so happy, yet, so sad that I'm finished with it. *sniffle* Though, I _might _do a squeal, but, I don't know. Maybe. :P Even if no one really reviewed for this story, I really did enjoy writing it, like I've said a million times. ^^

Remember, this is only one of the many stories that I'm going to be writing, so, don't worry, the next story should be up soon. :3 Lastly, thank you to those people that reviewed and that added my story to their favorites, even if it seems like I don't appreciate them, I really do. :3

Thank you and good day! x3


End file.
